The Mystery of Clan Lavellan
by animerocker646
Summary: Dragon Age Inquisition told mostly though Solas' perspective as he discovers the history of Ellana's clan and how the mystery of Clan Lavellan will change everything, not just for Solas, but for the fate of Thedas.
1. Chapter 1

**It has been a long time since I've written anything for fanfiction. College nearly killed off my drive to write anything creative, but I'm back and tying my hand at Dragon Age. I'll have more about posting schedules and such at the bottom, enjoy the chapter. =)**

Solas had never believed his generals when they told him that he had a great vision when creating a plan, but poor execution. That was, until he been partially responsible for a rift in the sky that was threatening to end Thedas thinking he could fix the issue of the veil that he had created for the world. If he had only listened a few millennia ago, maybe none of this would have happened. Despite his many regrets, Solas couldn't undo his mistakes, but he could try and right them.

This may not have been the world he had known, but he wasn't going to let it be devoured by the fade and an evil magister that he might have empowered to do so. He was going to fix this mess, starting with the Dalish elf that came tumbling out of fade physically, baring his mark on her tan hand.

He presumed she was Dalish, her markings were of Mythal, but she could have been taken by a circle and kept there after she had received her _vallaslin_. It was an unlikely scenario, but one that he wouldn't discount until he got to speak with her for the first time. He wondered how this elf would receive him as a "bare faced" elf, he doubted this woman would even thank him for saving her life.

Despite everything that Solas had planned for, she was an anomaly he hadn't been expecting.

It sickened Solas to see how far his people had fallen. First by losing their immortality, fighting amongst themselves so fiercely for generations that man had taken over the continent, and to make matters worse, they had lost nearly all the culture that had made Elvhenan a long standing empire in the first place. His people had been reduced to nothing but wandering savages. They were still wearing the same slave markings and depending on would be gods even after he had spent so much to free them.

He heard her grumble out and curse in elvish more than once in pain, nothing coherent. Solas wasn't even sure of the young woman's name as he healed her. When he had been asked to look her over by The Seeker, he had been stunned at how they treated her, locked her up like an animal, while she was writhing on the cold stone floor in agony. She looked small, at first Solas thought that she was still in her teens, but that had been proved wrong when he observed closer. She was developed beyond adolescence and into adulthood, but not by too much. Solas figured she was somewhere in her second decade. She was still an infant to him, who had lived thousands of years.

Solas sighed, as the mark flared again, calling to his power like a moth to a flame. It illuminated her face for a moment, giving her dark matted half-shaved locks a bit of color to them for a moment. The young woman began to spasm. He grabbed her hand and pulled the raging magic, drawing more of it out and into himself. Once her twitching stopped he moved a shaking finger to her temple and forced healing magic into her body.

Solas shifted slightly on the floor. Healing a patient in the dungeons was not the best for his joints, or the comfort of his patient, not that any of the humans of Haven cared much for the comfort of two elves, regardless.

The mark was acting oddly with her. It quieted and it flared on its own, making Solas' already drawn face turn into a deeper frown. It seemed to be more at war within her than it was with him. Magic was a fickle thing and if this child is gifted with magic, well, that could be why the mark is reacting to her.

Was the mark still killing her?

More than likely she would perish in a few days at most with the Breach in the state it was, but would she be able to help them before her untimely demise was the better question and the one that the Seeker wanted answered.

If he let her die Thedas would end, he would end and so would his people. It would be his fault, again.

The woman gave a breathy wince and Solas' heart nearly stopped when he swore he heard her mutter the word "Fen'harel. The mark quieted after that, settling into an uneven pattern of rises and falls with the Breach, but it did not seem to be paining her nearly as much.

Small mercies, he supposed. She would live to see another day, which at the rate of the Breach's increase, it could very well be her last.

Theoretically, if she were to use his power to reseal the Breach she could stop it from spreading, but it would be painful, especially for someone so painfully mortal.

The telltale clang of boots warned Solas that Templars were coming to remove him from the prisoner's presence. It seemed that two unarmed elves in a single prison cell stirred fear into this entire organization. Solas resisted the urge to smirk at their naivety. It wasn't that they wrong to fear him, but in any other situation, this kind of treatment would be ridiculous. Then again, nothing was more terrifying than elves.

The boots stopped and someone cleared their throat behind him. Solas turned to see that it Commander Cullen. He withheld a sneer. Templars made his skin crawl no matter if they claimed to be retired from the order or not. Luckily, this man was not made for politics and was easy to read, something Solas easily played to his advantage.

"Is there something you need, Commander?" Solas asked, with the perfect amount confusion and honest exhaustion in his voice.

"Seeker Pentaghast wants you in the valley. There are quite a few men that would profit from your skill set." There as no room for argument in the Commander's voice. Solas was being dismissed and sent out into a demon-infested valley, most likely to die, because the Seeker wanted him there.

Solas resisted the urge to snap. He was not some Templar kept mage. No one ordered him around like this. The Commander narrowed his eyes at Solas for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I'm going to be going to the forward camp with you."

So, it was already a last stand. Solas took one last look at the prisoner and hoped that after all the healing magic he put into her that she'd wake up soon. By his accounts she should have already woken up.

But, Solas exited the cell and made his way out of the keep. The Commander was gracious enough to give him his staff back as the made their way to gates. He locked eyes with Seeker Pentaghast as he passed her. She was talking with the Spymaster and half a dozen troops. Solas wanted to wait for the prisoner to wake up, but the Seeker deemed her fit enough to be left alone. She was a prisoner after all, the fabled reason for causing the rift in the sky.

Oh how wrong they were.

It wasn't until he was, as Varric so elegantly put "ass deep in demons", that he met the young Elven prisoner. The Commander, if he could be called that, had stationed him with the dwarf in an attempt to keep all suspicious persons together. Though, through some kind of luck or misfortune, depending on where you were on the battlefield, he, Varric and a small handful of men had been separated from the army. Which at first, seemed to be the worst possible thing that could happen, but the screams of pain for over the hillsides made Solas think that he might be the lucky one away from more of the direct fighting.

As much as he disliked the Commander, Varric grated on his nerves in a completely different way. The dwarf had a way of reading people that he had not seen yet in this world. It worried Solas to no end that somehow he would be found out by this non-dreamer. He also seemed to enjoy prying into Solas' past, and Solas made it obvious that he wanted nothing more than to avoid talking about his origins.

"That's a break in demons for now," Solas said to the dwindling group of injured soldiers. Morale was low and any kind of break seemed to be welcomed. No one even commented that an elf was one to give the order. Battle was good for something at least. It always showed who the followers were compared who could be leaders.

The group had stopped momentarily to tend to the wounded before continuing to The Temple of Sacred Ashes. They were close and there was word that Seeker Pentaghast was coming with something that could stop these rifts. Solas dearly hoped that she had the prisoner with her. Otherwise, this whole mission to the temple will be wasted.

Solas sat in front of a soldier, Jim, who winced as Solas' magic pooled into his injured arm. It was going to take time for it heal, but it was stable for now.

"Is the kid going to live, Chuckles?" The dwarf asked and it took Solas a moment to realize that he was being addressed.

"He'll be fine as long as he does not re-break his arm any time soon. Why did you-"

There was the sudden and now familiar sound of a rift opening interrupting Solas. He grimaced, the rift couldn't have come at a worse time. He swung his staff overhead and prepared for battle. Varric picked up his crossbow and stood in front of the injured soldier trying to create some kind of barrier between him and the demons, even though Varric barely came up to the man's abdomen, his crossbow sent a clear message.

The last line of defense for these humans was, a rogue dwarf and an elven mage, how history has changed in the mast millennia.

Solas started casting, there was no time to waste. He could escape this then make his way back towards Haven if he had to. He needed to find the prisoner and he wasn't going to let himself die here and leave this mess to humans to attempt and fail to clean up. He focused the demon in front of him and fired the first ice spell that came to mind, leaving Varric to deal with the other enemies.

It wasn't until a knife protruded from the demon he was fighting that he realized he was no longer only fighting alongside Varric. The Seeker had arrived with the prisoner, who seemed to be fighting with dual blades. She was a rogue then, he could have sworn she felt like a mage.

There was no time to waste on guesswork of ambient magic in an elf that doesn't seem to be able to cast. With the help of the two women the demons fell quickly and left the rift weakened enough to potentially close it.

Solas grabbed the prisoner's glowing hand and forced it to touch the rift. She did not fight him, but he could feel every muscle in her arm tighten and one of her blades clang on the stone beneath their feet.

"Hurry, before more come through!" He shouted at her and through some miracle, she figured out how to manipulate the magic to close the rift.

The elf turned to him, grey eyes burning with unnatural energy. His hand still clutching her wrist and she pulled away as if burned. It seemed that she was like every Dalish elf he had come across then. All she sees is his bare face.

"So this is what this does?" He heard her mutter to herself as she stared at the mark on her hand, eyes narrowing as a flared up slightly again.

She had to be in horrendous pain being so close to the Breach.

"Yes, I theorized that the mark would be able to close the rifts and hopefully the largest one in the temple ahead."

"Lovely, that means more demons," she muttered, gazing down at the flaring mark on her hand.

Solas noted that she had an odd lilt to her voice compared to other Dalish elves that he had the misfortune of meeting. It was an odd mix and he couldn't quite place it the accent. It sounded familiar though, it would grate on him until he figured it out, but that was for later.

The dwarf cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention and breaking the tense atmosphere that the two elves had caused.

"Now, that you two have sorted that out, I'd like to introduce myself, the name is Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller and occasional unwanted tagalong."

"Ah, yes, you only take part in fighting demons when they suite your needs, not when they destroy a city and begin a war!" The Seeker snarled and Varric visibly cringed. Solas raised an eyebrow, he was going to have to keep that in mind for later use.

Though, the prisoner did not seem to be following their conversation any more than he was, which was comforting to some degree. "Well, Varric, I'm Ellana, from Clan Lavellan and you are the first person to kindly introduce yourself to me," she told him with a small, yet guarded smile. Solas nearly snorted at the not so subtle comment on the treatment she had received at the Seeker's hands.

"Well, Bianca and I are more than willing to go into the valley and fight with you Ellana."

"Absolutely not! You will only get in our way!" The Seeker snarled.

"You named your crossbow Bianca?" Ellana asked, her lips twitching at the corners.

It was obvious on what they focused on in dire situations.

Seeker Pentaghast had a temper on her when it comes to that dwarf. At least that what Solas had noticed from his time in Haven. The dwarf had to have a gift for aggravating that woman something awful. Solas vaguely wondered what Varric did to direct her ire solely at himself.

"You need my help, Seeker, admit it," the dwarf grinned, almost egging the Seeker on further.

She made a guttural noise at the back of her throat before marching away, arms thrown into the air in exasperation, signaling for the rest of the group to join.

But, Solas hadn't yet given his name and felt that if they were to be fighting together, she should know it before they departed. "My name is Solas, if introductions are to be made," he said as cordially as possible, given the situation and the fact he was dealing with a Dalish elf.

"What he means is, he kept that mark from killing you," Varric interrupted, eyes dancing mischievously.

Ellana turned to him her eyes soft, but the lines around her mouth were hard, leaving Solas slightly confused as to what her reply was going to be. "Thank you. I thought that I heard a voice while I was trapped between waking and sleep. Here I thought I had the Dread Wolf biting at my heels. Luckily, it was only you," she replied with a polite dip of her head and a grin on her face that was more teeth than anything else.

It was a formal acknowledgment that made his skin crawl. Solas had been put under the impression that the Dalish hated the dread wolf, yet this was the second time she had mentioned his ancient title, his badge of pride.

Did she know something?

He watched her back start to move to catch up with the Seeker before Solas himself moved to follow. He was going to need to keep a much closer eye on this woman. His spies would also need to find Clan Lavellan and find out if Ellana is the only anomaly or if the entire clan was just as strange as she was.

He was hoping that she was the only exception, it would make things much easier on him in the long run that way.

 **Hello again! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. This story is going to be mostly told through Solas' perspective until they reach Skyhold, where it will change to Hawke for a bit, just to switch some stuff up. I've realized the more I write Solas the more I realize that he is just a super jaded academic. XD**

 **Lucky for you all, I already have like 50 pages written for this story, so that's like the first 5 chapters done. I will be posting every Friday evening as long as I have internet.**

 **Leave feedback for the chapter! This is my first Dragon Age fic, so I hope I'm doing Thedas justice.**

 **See you all next week!**

 **~Animerocker**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy Friday all! Thanks for reading the last chapter. See you at the bottom, enjoy!**

Ellana was unconscious again, which honestly, was the way that Solas was beginning to prefer her. This way she wouldn't keep destroying the expectations he had set for the Elves of this time period. She had determination to make a change, something that Solas had not encountered in the Dalish and City Elves that he had met since he'd woken up.

She shivered slightly in her sleep as the mark on her hand flared up for a moment. With the Breach partially sealed it seemed that the mark was not growing at a constant rate any longer. She had more control over the mark than he would have thought a non-magic user could manage. Solas pulled the wool blanket around her shoulders as another gust of cold air pushed through the wooden walls of her cabin.

He sighed.

At least she was clothed properly and was given an actual bed to sleep in this time. It was a vast improvement to the prison cell the humans had put her in last time. Solas had been given a room on the opposite side of Haven, something that he believed was done deliberately. It seemed that even though they both helped save this little Chantry camp, and possibly all of Thedas, two elves that didn't identify as servants, or Andrastians, were too dangerous to be kept near each other. For all the humans knew they could be planning the downfall of Chantry behind closed doors. The mere thought of attempting to dismantle their little religion brought a wolfish grin to his face.

It wouldn't be the first time that Solas had destroyed a belief system and an entire way of life. He just hoped it would end better than the first one did.

Solas nearly groaned remembering how everything had fallen apart at the end. All the people he had lost. He didn't even know what had become of his generals, his spymaster. He assumed that they had all perished, but he wasn't sure how or when.

He shook his head, that was enough focusing on the past. He brought his magic forward and healing the remaining minor injuries littered on Ellana. He felt her forehead quickly, just to make sure she wasn't falling ill and to his relief it was normal, if only a little cold. Her condition was improving and he figured that within the next few hours Ellana would wake up. Solas needed to speak to her, about the mark and about her origins. There was something not quite right about her, the way she spoke and acted around him. Her mannerisms and general appearance resembled those of Elves long past. She knew something about him, but wasn't telling, instead she teased.

Solas sighed. It wasn't as if she owed him an explanation. He was going to need to gain her trust, which was something he was willing to spend his time doing. Ellana seemed too different, just from their brief interactions.

He hadn't thought that she could actually help with the breach. Just from healing her in the prison cell, he knew how much pain that mark caused her, but she had fought through it, impressing him further.

She had actually managed to halt the expansion of the Breach with basic knowledge of how her mark worked and it didn't kill her. Solas had expected the mark to take her life this last time, not that he told anyone that. He hadn't thought that her mortal body would be able to handle the strain a second time, but here she was again, unconscious and mumbling in her sleep, calling out to people he'd never heard of.

Though, many of his early thoughts about Ellana were incorrect. His initial idea of what Ellana looked like had been very misconstrued by the abysmal dungeon lighting. After the battle Ellana had been cleaned off by some of the servants to make sure that under all her clothing there was nothing that could get infected or cause any more damage to her than the mark already was.

It turned out that her skin and hair were much lighter than his first impression of her on the battlefield. She was much paler after taking off three layers of dirt and grim. Her hair, which he had assumed was a dirty brown was a white blonde, but it was still shaved on the left side of her head. The women that had tended to her earlier had taken her hair out of her traditional braid and if customs had been kept about warriors and their hair, Ellana was going to be furious when she found out that it had been touched without her permission.

Solas had been tempted more than once to try and visit her while she deep in the fade, to just catch a glimpse of what her mind was like when it was unguarded and at its most vulnerable. He'd done that more than once back when he was revered as a god, but he was still weak and didn't want to push his boundaries with Ellana yet. He needed her on his side for now. She was strong and very capable in a fight, which seemed to be where they were all headed with the Chantry calling for her head.

The Commander and the Right and Left Hands of the previous Divine put their collective feet down to stop the Chantry of gaining custody of the young unconscious elf in their care. The people of Haven regard her as a hero, so there was some protection there.

They have begun hailing this Dalish Elf "The Herald of Andraste," which was blasphemous on more levels than Solas was willing to think about. Not only were they discounting this woman's heritage they were easily riling up the Chantry further. He swore humans never thought anything though as well as they could. They could have at least waited before Ellana woke up before naming her after their deity.

Of course, Varric was making matters worse. He was spreading stories around camp about Ellana's feats in battle and how she had helped stitch the hole in the sky. They were, of course, extremely embellished, but they were helping morale. The only problem was that it was spreading the new name given to Ellana. He highly doubted that she was going to enjoy the extra amount of attention.

A knock from the front door nearly caused Solas to jump. He hadn't expected anyone to try and see their new Herald until she woke up on her own. He could tell the person on the other side to merely leave, that would be best for him, but it could be someone bringing something for Ellana. So, he wrapped her in an extra blanket and stoked the fire magically, making the room warmer before he called for the person to enter.

To his surprise it was the Seeker that had come to visit. There was a chest in her hands and by the way that she was carrying it, he assumed that it was heavy. "Can I help you, Seeker?" He asked, eyebrow raised as he watched her bring the trunk to the foot of the bed. She shook her head, placing it on the floor with a soft, but still audible thud.

"Thank you for watching over her, Solas. Despite you being an apostate, your help as been invaluable when it comes to the health of the Herald."

"So, she's "The Herald" now, instead of the prisoner. How your tune changes when an elf does what you want. Do you think this woman wants to be your Herald?"

The Seeker's jaw clenched at the accusation her Nevarran accent coming out ticker than normal. "That wasn't why I freed her at the temple, Solas. Thedas needs her. Is she close to waking up?"

"Soon." He replied standing up from the wooden chair he'd been sitting in for the past few hours. "There isn't anything more for me to do. If you need me I'll be across camp."

It taken a few days, but the crisp mountain air helped clear his head and simmer his temper down. He had escaped the camp for the afternoon, staying just outside of its wooden walls. His staff was slung across his back, incase someone decided that the elven apostate helping the Inquisition wasn't worth the air he breathed. He'd seen Elves slayed for less.

How his people had fallen.

Being in this veiled world and constantly around humans, had him acting against his better judgment. Everything in this world was different. With the veil in place nothing felt normal to Solas quite yet.

Now, from the rumors that he'd heard around camp, Haven was now going to be the base of operations for the Inquisition and Ellana was going to be running errands for them. He hadn't seen her in days, Solas assumed that she was being educated in the way of the Chantry faithful.

Solas smirked, wondering how well that conversion would go. From the brief interactions he had with Dalish elves, they were stubborn and set in their ways. He highly doubted that Ellana is taking any of this lying down. Though, from the way that her lips had curled in disgust at the idea of being captured by Chantry _shemlen_ , Solas truly doubted they would make a devote Andrastian out of her.

The only positive about the Inquisition separating itself from the official Chantry was that this organization wasn't solely religiously based. They were all united in wanting to close the Breach. It was something that Solas could agree with. His spy network had found no way to close the Breach yet so working with Inquisition and attempting to reclaim his orb were his top priorities.

"Solas?" A quiet voice broke him out of his train of thought. He turned to find Ellana in front of him and he nearly jumped at her proximity to him. She had her arms behind her back and a cheeky grin on her face. He hadn't heard her approach, but her posture seemed friendly enough.

"The fabled Herald of Andraste," he began, but her nose wrinkled at the title.

"Please, don't call me that. It's a sick joke not only on our people, but to the _shems_ that follow their religion. Just because I fall out of the fade _once…_ " she muttered, a pout forming, reminding him of how young she actually was and what kind of a burden he had accidently put on her shoulders.

It brought a smile to his face before he realized something in her phrasing seemed off. "Our people, I didn't know that the Dalish considered those without _vallaslin_ one of their own."

"My clan accepts those with or without _vallaslin_ ," she replied tiredly, as if this isn't the first time that she had explained this, and perhaps it wasn't, with the ways that other clans might react to the news that Clan Lavellan was accepting city elves into their fold. "You also saved my life, and that isn't something I'm going to forget anytime soon, _hahren_. My Keeper would have my head if I was rude to you."

"You're not a mage, I would expect your mother to be the one reprimanding you _da'len_."

She gave him a wide smile, as if Solas had told some kind of joke. "Well, when I was younger my grandmother was the Keeper of my clan and three years ago my mother took the mantle. They tended to give me all my punishments," she told him with a fond smile, her grey eyes a far away, no doubt thinking of fonder times.

Solas nearly let out a sigh. She had family, at least one member still alive if her grandmother passed away. It was going to be hard when she finds out that the mark was still killing her.

"I doubt that they let you get away with much."

She grinned. "Oh the stories I could tell you… When I was younger it was much more difficult, but after my brother came into his magic and I started training to be a hunter, I was able to do a lot more without my mother and grandmother watching my every move."

"Somehow that is rather easy to picture. You seem like the sort that would wonder off."

She snorted, "You sound just like my brother. Always going on about how I always find trouble…I mean he isn't wrong, but he's not much better, just because he's the First doesn't mean that he has infinite wisdom."

"Your brother is a mage then?"

She nodded, another fond smile gracing her lips. "Yes, he's my twin, older by thirty-seven minutes and he never lets me forget about it. It isn't often that twins are born in clans, it was seen as a blessing. It was also seen as a blessing that only one of us was gifted with magic. We already have too many mages in the Clan as it is."

Solas raised an eyebrow. He would certainly need to look into this Clan Lavellan. They seemed to be breaking quite a few Dalish rules with their practices. There was also a high chance of finding some powerful mages with this Clan that could help him in his newest endeavor.

"You two could at least have the decency of speaking in common," Solas heard a man grumble rather loudly from his left. It was then that Solas realized he had stopped speaking in common some time ago with Ellana. Her eyes danced mischievously at his shocked reaction.

"You're slipping up, Solas," she told him with a wink. "Get some rest. I've grown tired of speaking about my clan. We're leaving with Cassandra and Varric at daybreak for the Hinterlands. We're apparently going to talk to some stuffy Chantry woman."

Ellana made a face before sauntering off towards her own cabin across camp. This left Solas still staring at this strange woman that put him at such ease that he slipped up and spoke in Elven. Even more strange that she spoke it perfectly. Clan Lavellan was odd, he was going to need to send scouts to learn about them. From what she had mentioned, he knew that they would take in any of the people he would send without question.

They were too kind hearted and that would be their downfall.

 **I promise that not all of this is going to be contemplative as these last two chapters. Now that Ellana is awake and running around Solas is going to have a lot more interaction with her and other characters. =) I have quite a lot of plot twists with this story that may mess with the Cannon a little bit, but what's a fanfiction without some fun.**

 **Thank you for all of those that favorited, reviewed, and followed! I really appreciate it! They really help me stay motivated, so keep it up!**

 **See you next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Happy Friday and happy August to you all. This chapter is a little bit shorter than the other two, but not by much maybe like two or three hundred words. Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom!**

"You're shitting me. You managed to ride naked on one of your halla for how many miles?" Varric asked, pen in hand as he wrote down yet another ridiculous story that Ellana was sharing on their slow trek through the Hinterlands. The four of them were currently stopped for the night. A campfire was lit between them, two tents put up behind Cassandra and Ellana, and some rather large nugs were roasting on the fire.

Ellana and Varric were sharing various stories, trying to see who can make the Seeker laugh the most. They had been attempting this since they entered the Hinterlands five days ago. Varric and Ellana had to very different ways of telling stories, Varric's being completely outlandish tales and Ellana's being hilarious stories that for the most part seemed to be free of embellishments. If she wasn't doomed to die by the mark on her hand she'd have made a fantastic storyteller for her clan.

Though Ellana seemed to winning the game she and Varric had been playing. She had gotten a few smirks out of the woman where Varric seemed to only get sneers from Cassandra.

"Completely true, every word. I swear I still have the bruises from it. Never go skinny-dipping without putting your cloths somewhere that the nugs won't get to. They're vindictive little buggers when they put their minds to it."

Solas heard Cassandra snort from his left. The stories were interesting and if he wasn't so concerned for the state of the world, he might have been more inclined to laugh. They had closed multiple rifts and fought mages, Templars and demons for days on end. It seemed that there was no end to this war. As soon as they finished on group of rebels off, another would appear. It was infuriating.

"So, tell me more about your clan. I've only met a handful of Dalish elves and the one I'm closest to is a blood-mage and while she is very sweet, she's nothing like you, Shadow" Varric said as he pulled out another piece of parchment, obviously wanting more material on the Herald and her life for one of his distasteful novels.

Ellana sighed, her eyes staring at the fire, as it would give her answers of some kind. "Well, to understand my clan is to start at the beginning, to the fall of the People. Clan Lavellan isn't a normal clan. We have a different history, comparatively to other clans, or at least we've retained a slightly different history," she began, pulling at her braid and rolling the tip between two fingers nervously. She dipped a finger into her tunic and pulled out a necklace and began to fidget with that instead. In the dim light it was impossible to make out what the pendant she was wearing looked like, but Solas could feel a faint magic pulse through it.

A charm of some kind?

"My clan, like many of the others formed during the fall of the elven people, when we scattered, torn to pieces by wars of our own making and of those made by men. My clan was made up of escaped slaves, those that had fought to keep their freedom-"

"From Tevinter? I didn't think it was active that far back?" Varric interrupted as he scribbled furiously on the page.

Ellana sighed, her mouth turned into a hard line. "That's because it wasn't Tevinter humans that my clan were trying to escape. It was other elves-" "

"Your own people enslaved each other?"

"You have to remember Varric, the elves used to rule this world. If legends are true, elves were once immortal. I imagine it was like Tevinter, but much worse for those without the power to fight back," Ellana said, her voice near a whisper at the end.

Solas dearly wanted to interject, say something about the past that would put her mind at ease. While she wasn't wrong that the elves of the past had been treated cruelly, the world itself was wide with creatures that she would never get to see outside of the Fade. It was a world of beauty and wonder when the Pantheon wasn't burning it to the ground.

Her grasp on the People's history was impressive, if a little vague, but accurate in an age where everything he had known had just about been forgotten.

"From what history we have kept for hundreds of years, the elves of Arlathan, were just as corrupt as the Imperium. My people, my clan, were descended from those fought against their rulers, who fought against their slave masters. This knowledge is something that has been lost to many clans."

"I'm guessing that rebelling thing didn't work out all that well for them?"

She looked somewhat wistful before replying. "Something like that. Their leader had a plan, to stop the war, but he disappeared, along with most of the world's magic and rulers. Chaos ensued, causing more wars and death. Eventually, the humans realized what was going on and destroyed everything and every elf they could find, anything to ruin the already crumbling empire. Tevinter likes to take credit for it and many elves are more than happy to believe it, not wanting to remember that we were once just as corrupt as those that are still trying to enslave us today."

Solas tried not to flinch at the story. It was as accurate a narration of the events leading up to his disappearance has he had heard from any Dalish elf. It was almost too accurate and once again Solas had to wonder how her clan had preserved the knowledge of the past as well as they had.

He had sent multiple agents to attempt to infiltrate Clan Lavellan, but he'd had heard nothing back. He'd have to delve into the fade tonight and speak to his agents.

He wondered who had founded her clan. He had an inkling, but didn't want to make assumptions, he'd made too many of those already. If one of his people had founded her clan, it would mean, more than likely they would have passed away. He wasn't entirely sure how immorality with the original elves from Arlathan worked in this post-veil world. It hurt to even think of some of them as dead.

"But your clan stuck it out?"

"I wouldn't be here if they didn't."

"That still doesn't explain why your clan isn't normal…I mean, your version of history is a bit different from what I've heard before, but-"

"I'm getting to that, Varric. Isn't storytelling about the journey? My clan is strange because we settled down in once place, instead of solely telling stories we write things down. We aren't wondering the Dales in a vain hope the humans will let us have what is rightfully ours, no offence Cassandra."

The Seeker grunted and rolled her eyes. Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. This was part of the problem. There were so many promises broken between humans and elves. Solas almost missed when Ellana started speaking again, she was talking so quietly against the crackling fire. Her voice was enchanting and soft, if she had magic, he imaged she would be making shapes in the fire.

"Our first Keeper was looking for her leader, a general that had commanded many of the armies of freed slaves, but he was nowhere to be found. So, my clan stopped wandering, but we never forgot that our roots were of freedom, so we offer that to any elf that needs our protection. It doesn't always work, but we get many different kinds of people to stay in our clan. We have elves from Tevinter, Val Royeaux, Circles, cities, you name it, at one point or another an elf has been from there. With this mismatched group of elves we tend to stay on a cursed mountainside. It keeps the _shems_ away and keeps us much safer."

Solas could feel a migraine coming on. Ellana could be a direct descendent of one of his generals, who had all been related to different members of the Evanuris. He had given them specific orders on how to handle the people they had freed. To think that one of them would have created a clan that would survive to this day with some accurate culture shook Solas to his core. What else had this clan preserved? Ellana doesn't speak of "the creators" beyond cursing them. Could there be a clan that wasn't just an echo of the past, but have actual substance in this post-veil world?

He would have to find ways to ask her further about this, but right now she was enjoying her small talk with Varric.

"Is the mountain actually cursed?"

She gave him a conspiratorial grin, "if you mean cursed with clever Dalish elves that have been circulating rumors about a curse for hundreds of years, then yes."

Varric smirked, his eyes alight at the story Ellana's clan had spun. "So your clan doesn't travel? Nomadic life not their style?"

Ellana shrugged. "According to the history passed down from the Keepers, there is no reason for us to be traveling, since our purpose is freedom and we have it, so settling down was the best option. That doesn't mean that we don't trade and bring out Dalish wares to neighboring towns. That's mostly what we use our aravels for at this point. As I said earlier, my Clan is a little bit different, but there are other clans like mine scattered throughout Thedas. We all have a similar history, but my clan has the most contact with _shems_ and therefore has the most to lose by this silly war that brought me to the Conclave in the first place."

"So, you were a spy!" Cassandra nearly shouted over the quiet of the fire and Ellana gave her a good-natured grin.

Solas felt like smacking his head into something. Of course she was there to spy, what else would a Dalish elf be doing at the Conclave in the first place? What had the Seeker thought she was doing there after everything was said and done?

"Of course I was a spy, Cassandra, but I wasn't there to blow up your Conclave. I wanted to know what was going to happen between your mages and Templars. You humans always think that you have the final say in what goes on in this world, but there are more moving parts than you have control over."

Solas couldn't agree more.

 **As you can see I'm diverging from the canon here. I love twisting things and I image that there are clans that have stopped wandering if they find a good enough area where there were no humans to bother them. Also, some clan had to actually preserve _something_ hadn't been awake that long to find all the clans all over Thedas and determine them all inadequate. He tends to assume things.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the kind reviews.**

 **There are going to be more fun times in the Hinterlands coming up. As we all know, the Hinterlands takes forever to finish. I spent too many in-game hours there just trying to finish the side quests, but I digress.**

 **Review if you liked it or have questions. Sometimes I feel like I make something clear in my stories and then I find out I've confused people. =)**

 **Have a great weekend and see you next week!**

 **~Animerocker**


	4. Chapter 4

**I gave you guys an extra long chapter this week. Originally, it was supposed to be two different ones, but I figured I put my Hinterlands chapters together. So, now you guys get a chapter that's almost 3k words long. Enjoy!**

It was four weeks into their journey and Solas had noticed that every morning, Ellana would go out and hunt for the group before sunrise. At first he thought that it was the Seeker that was going out of her way to get food for "The Herald", but when he approached her about it she had grumbled something about Ellana getting it.

So, he tried to catch her in the act more than once, but the woman was near silent. It was almost impossible to track her or even know what time she got up. Her hunting time seemed to be slightly different each morning. It was as if she knew he was trying to follow her into the forest.

Had he done something to offend her? Solas thought back and wondered if he made any rash comments about Dalish lifestyle and couldn't remember one he made recently…at least in her presence.

But, this time he had woken up before her and was ready by the forest's edge when she nearly silently passed. Ellana was looking back towards the camp a smirk gracing her tin lips when she knew all was quiet. She easily started to weave her way towards the forest, missing twigs and leaves that would give away her position. To someone lesser trained, they would have missed her, but to someone with hundreds of years of experience under his belt, this youngling didn't stand a chance.

"Good morning, _da'len_."

The rogue jumped, her body coming into view. Her dark hood was thrown of her heard, her bow slung over her shoulders and her primary draggers secured at her waist. She threw him a dirty look as she sulked up to him before a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "Good morning, _hahren_. Are you coming to hunt with me this morning?"

No, no he wasn't. By the glint in her eyes he knew she was teasing him, challenging him to take the bait. Had she planned his little trap? Peek his curiosity and get him to go hunting with her? It was one he hadn't quite anticipated if that were the case.

She wiggled a throwing knife in his face before he plucked it out of her waiting hand. He'd play her game.

Solas knew he was going to regret this in a few hours. He was sorely out of practice with throwing knives and hunting in general. Living in Haven was making him softer than he'd like when it came to catching his own food.

"Is there a reason that you want a barefaced mage hunting with you?" Solas challenged, waiting for her reply. Dearly hoping that she gave him something to work with, the woman truly enjoyed leaving him in the dark with her plans.

"You've mentioned that you've slept in ancient ruins before. I know you'd need to hunt for your own food eventually. I want to see you at work. Two pairs of eyes are better than one when looking for food. Try not to slow me down," she responded with a wink before darting off, her boot-clad feet making no noise on the dew-covered grass.

Solas followed at a more sedate, but just a silent pace. He was not going to be the one to scare what they were hunting.

It didn't take long before they made a game out of it with some kind of misguided point system. They'd gain points through tracking and stalking, but none it made too much sense since they tended to lose a trail before picking up a new one. There wasn't really a winner or a loser per-say, but it made the morning pass more quickly.

As much as he enjoyed hiding his more animalistic nature, the true "Dread Wolf" when he was with Ellana it just tended to surface. She played games with him, something that those of his time were to terrified to do and that those of this time would not even think of suggesting to a stuffy mage like him. Ellana was different. She was used to mages being physically fit, clan life was hard and something that everyone participated in. She saw through a few facades that Solas had erected to keep those in Haven thinking he was weak. So, when no one was watching she'd push him and hope he'd rise to her challenge.

So, here he was, running though the forest, morning dew between his toes, dagger in hand, slinking behind trees, tracking prey. Ellana usually brought small game back to camp, there was no need for large animals when they usually caught something for dinner. Eventually, they spotted a pair of rabbits. Ellana was taking aim with her bow and Solas taking aim with a knife. He could always use a spell on the knife, but Ellana would take that as cheating and it could also ruin the meat. They would each get one chance to secure their kill. Solas flicked his wrists the moment Ellana's bow fired. Both weapons hit their marks. His was slightly messier than hers. At one point in his life he could have killed that animal by just fade stepping to it, but he could not reimagine the land the way that he wanted to now.

She whistled at his accuracy. He turned towards Ellana, her braid was coming undone and her eyes were a little wild, but she was grinning ear to ear. "I'm impressed, _hahren_. That was a nice shot. You would have made one hell of a Dalish hunter if you weren't a mage."

He knew she was teasing him. He might have hit his mark, but the meat wouldn't be as good since he didn't hit quite the right organs.

"I'm a little out of practice, but, as you can see, I can hunt just fine, _da'len._ "

She rolled her eyes. "I never said you couldn't. Help me carry our kills back. If we hurry we can still make it before Cassandra wakes up. She likes fresh cooked meat for breakfast."

Solas decided to ask a question that had been bothering him since he had started this journey with this group.

"Is there a reason that you are on such good terms with the Seeker? She did try to kill you after all."

Ellana shrugged. "She never actually tried to kill me. She was scared, but the second I helped her, she let me go. I wasn't an elf to her, but a person that could assist her in saving a lot of people," she explained and then sent him a small smile, "we also share a tent every night. There was no way I wanted to be on the bad side of a woman who could kill me in my sleep," She replied and then tapped her chin, a familiar mischievous grin gracing her face. "Also, she hates that I hunt in the mornings. Reminds her I'm a Dalish savage with her "Makers mark" on my hand."

There was no use arguing with that logic. While Solas still found Cassandra to be problematic in her views on mages, Ellana wasn't a mage and thus didn't have the Seeker sending her disapproving glances all the time, just most of it. He had also seen the Seeker literally wrestle a large bear into submission with her bare hands. She was not the kind of woman you wanted angry with you.

* * *

Their adventure in the Hinterlands never seemed to end. They had been running errands for the crossroad and Horse Master Dennet before heading back to Haven and it had taken weeks to accomplish. At least now, the group was making its way back, but with added refugees, clerics and agents.

Solas wasn't sure if he wanted to admire Mother Giselle or throw her from a tower. The woman was helping refugees, which, of course was admirable, but every time she spoke to Ellana, the elf would be rubbing her temples muttering something about Andrastians and their obsession with conversion. Religious conversion was not something that Solas had really ever had to deal with before. There had been plenty of people forced to worship those of the Elven Pantheon in his time, but it was an enforced practice more than anything else. Before he created the veil he himself had been worshiped like a god. It was strange thinking about how much had changed.

Mother Giselle seemed to be constantly trying to turn Ellana from her multiple god worshiping ways. From what Solas had heard the reverend mother was trying to convince her it would be better for her image to be Andrastian. Ellana tended to just ignore her and curse in the "creators" names. And, while Solas didn't approve of The Elven Pantheon as gods, he preferred Ellana continued to be herself than change for the human masses, much to the reverend mother's immense disappointment.

The Chantry Mother really enjoyed corning all the members of the Inquisition as they were traveling back to Haven from the Hinterlands. It wasn't until they were partway back that Mother Giselle cornered Solas.

She had planned her time of attack well.

It had been a lovely evening, the weather hadn't been too hot or too cold. As a collective group they had killed in the single digits and they hadn't needed to go hunting. It was a nice change of pace. The people were happy and therefore Ellana, Varric, Cassandra and Solas received a break for once. That was until Mother Giselle had moved from talking to Cassandra in hushed tones to coming to Solas' small area of camp. Most of the soldiers kept away from him due to his magic or stayed clear of him because he was an elf.

Mother Giselle was another person entirely and when he noticed her making her way towards him, he looked desperately for Ellana or Varric hoping that they could get him away from her, but neither were around. Solas wondered if Mother Giselle had planned it this way.

She was Orlesian, she had to have planned this.

Clever human.

She stood over his seated form. "You must be the apostate elf, Solas. Cassandra has told me little about you." The woman made no move to sit next to him or treat him as an equal it seemed. If that was how she was going to play…

Solas' lip curled towards a snarl, but he kept his voice deceptively calm. "That is because the Seeker knows nothing about me, nor does she care to. She only sees a future abomination in me."

"The Maker created magic to serve men, Solas. Cassandra fears that without proper guidance you will be lost. It is a wonder that the Herald hasn't strayed far with her…gods… and her lack of willingness to see Andraste and the Maker as the true path to enlightenment."

Oh, how he wished to show her the true power of a god…

Solas curled his hands around his staff, trying to hide his apparent anger. "Ellana does not remember what happened at the Conclave. Varric, The Seeker and the Spymaster have mostly spread what the people claim to have happened. Ellana has never claimed to chosen by Andraste. I highly doubt that she is going to change for you and I would rather die than convert to your _religion,_ " he sneered turning from the reverend mother, hoping that she would leave him in peace.

He could tell that his abhorrence to her didn't deter her in the slightest. If anything it seemed to strengthen her resolve.

"Now, I understand that elves, much like yourself, believe in your creators…you should know that they aren't real. The Maker is the only true God in the world. What you believe are simply stories-" she began, but Solas interrupted her by standing abruptly. Stories they may be, but at least they were based on real elves. Her _Maker_ hadn't even been a conceivable thought up until a few hundred years ago.

"You assume much about me, Mother Giselle. I have no inclination to believe in any form of god or gods."

Before she could respond a voice called out to her from the crowd of humans by the fire on the other side of camp. She gave Solas a pointed look before she moved to appease the people. Moments later Ellana appears out of nowhere. It seemed like she had used some of her invisibility powered and with the shit-eating grin on her face, Solas assumed she was up to something. Though, she had no weapons on her person, so it had nothing to do with hunting or killing something.

"Did you like my distraction?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes, not fooling him for a second. She sat down next to him with a graceless thump that would have made the Ambassador have a heart attack.

Solas raised an eyebrow, remembering the voice that called out to the monstrous mother. "That was you?"

She rolled her eyes, a teasing smile tugging at her lips, hands behind her back. She was the picture of ease. "Of course. She's been driving me to contemplate murder with the way she talked about my clan and our…primitive and savage belief system. I can only image what she said to you."

"Something similar actually."

Ellana made a guttural noise in the back of her throat that would have made Cassandra proud. "Can I command Cullen to lock her up somewhere? Do I have that kind of power?"

At least she wanted to use her power as a The Herald for true good. Ellana was a true hero of the people.

Solas chuckled. "I feel like Cullen would find that quite blasphemous."

"Would he? Ugh, but what if I locked her up and no one, but me, knew where she was?"

"That's kidnapping, _da'len._ "

"You're such a killjoy, Solas. Let me dream."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Watching the fire flicker and burn in the evening light. It seemed that she was waiting for him to speak. He noticed that she did that a lot. She'd get him laughing and then wait for him to start the next bout of conversation. He always wondered what she was expecting him to share with her.

"Thank you, for getting her away from me."

The light in her eyes dimmed a bit, he supposed that wasn't quite the right thing to say, but as soon as the disappointment was there, it was gone. If he hadn't caught her doing it once or twice before he would have missed it this time. "It was no problem. She's a pain, but the Inquisition as a whole needs her," she then motioned between the two of them, "but we don't. So, if she ever bothers you, you are more than welcome to use me as an excuse to get away."

Solas grinned thinking of the rumors that would start if they started that. "Don't start something you can't keep up with, _da'len_. What if you aren't at Haven when she corners me?"

"Well, then say Varric needs you. It isn't difficult to name people you know and claiming that they need your help, ser fade-expert. As long as it isn't Cassandra, who would sell you out, you're fine. It's what friends do for each other."

So, they had finally reached the level of friendship. There was a warm feeling in his chest, Solas didn't remember the last time he had made a friend that wasn't a spirit.

"I'll keep that in mind."

That warm feeling turned to ice when he remembered it was his fault her caring spirit was going to most likely die before the year was out.

 **I hope that I'm capturing Solas' personality correctly. XD He is one of the most introspective characters that I've written. Ironically, the character that I'm not writing a POV in, Ellana, is my favorite character to write. She's a lot more playful than the cannon Inquisitor. Fun fact, this story was originally supposed to be just a series of one shots and only five chapters long and around 20-30 pages max. One hundred pages later and I realize that I can't write short stories.**

 **Thank you for the kind reviews, they really make my day. =)**

 **See you next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Friday! This week as been a busy one, but I took time to fix up a bunch of chapters for this fic, which was nice. If I've calculated correctly, I have the first 17 chapters done! So, enjoy chapter 5 and see you at the bottom!**

It amused Solas to no end that Ellana got along with everyone in her inner circle, except for Commander Cullen. Well, she got along with him, as long as they hadn't spent time around their war table for an extended period of time. From what Solas knew of the Commander, he was a pessimist and realistic, and while Ellana was a trained rogue and killed people on a regular basis, she was still young and idealistic.

The two just seemed to fight each other at every turn when it came to world altering decisions. Ellana and Cullen usually left shouting at each other or in a heated debate that would leave both of them red in the face and not on speaking terms for at least a few days.

Their tempers were coming to a head the closer it got to Ellana deciding whether or not she was going to help the mages or the Templars. Solas would worry for Cullen more if Ellana had been a mage. No doubt she'd be throwing fire at him if she had the capability. Though, she carried her knives with her wherever she went, but Solas didn't think she'd stab him publicly. She'd miss the human, he was an amazing strategist, even Solas had to admit that.

It wasn't often that Solas got to hear their arguments firsthand, he usually heard them second hand from Varric, who would watch and write down everything that happened between the two. He was obviously hoping for a romance between the two. It would be a grand story, an ex-Templar falling in love with a Dalish savage, but Solas couldn't see her wanting a human Templar. She cared for the people too much to betray them in such a way.

But, today was special since they were standing near the apothecary, which put them in Solas' line of sight. Ellana had mentioned needing to make potions earlier that morning. She had probably planned on doing it after her war table meeting, though if her grip on her dual blades was any indication of her mood, she was more likely to stab her Commander, or anything really, instead of creating something. So, Solas leaned against his cabin, watching the chaos unfold.

"I don't understand why you want the mages so badly. We could just as easily use the Templars!"

Ellana seems to be fuming at this point. Her face is red and she squares her shoulders attempting to make herself seem imposing, but she's at least a head and half shorter than the ex-Templar.

"The mages didn't threaten to kill me when I met their leader!"

Their trip to Val Royeaux had been eventful to say the least. They'd been threatened by not only the seekers, but the Templars as well. Ellana did not take to be threatened well by humans and seemed to prefer Grand Enchanter Fiona. It probably helped that the leader of the Mage Rebellion had been an elf.

"Mages are unpredictable, we'll no doubt have abominations on our hands with mages, at least with Templars we wont have that worry looming over us!"

Solas rolled his eyes at the Commander's attitude towards mages. He was always so ready for the mages to turn to demons. It caused Solas to tighten his grip on his staff. Though, it seemed to bother Ellana as much as it bothered him.

"And have lyrium infused soldiers running around camp is any better? The Inquisition doesn't have the funds currently to supply that large of an amount of lyrium to the Templars."

It seemed that Ellana had different concerns than Solas did about choosing the mages. He vaguely wondered if the Templars had done something to her clan to cause such obvious distrust. The Commander's eyes narrowed. It seemed Ellana struck a nerve, interesting. "So, you won't even consider them because they'd cost too much because of lyrium?"

It seemed that the Ambassador had been influencing her. Solas doubted that Ellana would have known the price of lyrium a few weeks ago.

"Not just that, but I'm trying to look at the bigger picture here, for the betterment of Haven. There is not a hundred percent chance of abominations among the mages. I feel like the ones that were easily swayed by demons have already let that happen to them. You haven't been in the Hinterlands in the midst of the fighting. I've killed so many abominations, blood mages and Templars, all of them mindlessly fighting. Then I saw what was left of the Mage Rebellion and realized that they were slaves of Tevinter. Cullen, I don't even want to image what Tevinter will do with that many mages under its thumb! Their leader was kind enough to invite us to their stronghold and then I find out that there is some strange kind of time magic at work there, I can't just ignore it. I worked with mages back at my clan and this is familiar to me! Why can't you trust my judgment?"

Solas could think of at least five different reasons why they shouldn't trust her judgment. One being her obvious hatred of Tevinter clouding her judgment, two being her age, he could go on, but didn't want to make himself worry about the consequences any ill thought plans she created could cause.

That seemed to be the correct response, since The Commander's shoulder's slumped. He let out a sigh, "You're young, Ellana. I just worry that you let your personal feelings get in the way of more tactical judgment. Templars are trained fighters, they are already militarized and willing to fight for a cause they believe in, unlike many of the mages in the rebellion that were forced into this war and could care less about closing the Breach."

Though, that seemed to be the wrong thing to say to Ellana. It wasn't often that anyone brought up her age, as it was a sore point with her and it tended to get her worked up and angry when it was used as an excuse to make decisions without her or for her. "You humans should have found something better than Circles to keep your mages in line, then none of this," she indicated to the world around them, "would have happened."

"You're blaming all of this on humans? If I remember right the Grand Enchanter at Kirkwall was an elf as well as the bloody leader of the mage rebellion who foolishly enslaved her people to Tevinter!"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, since Ellana tensed up like a snake ready to strike. Her fists tightened against her sides as she strained to keep her temper in check.

"Elves didn't build the Circles. You," she poked him in the chest, "locked them in. Your fear of magic consumes you and drags innocents into prisons and you would all do it again, as long as it made you feel safe for a night. Your Chantry created this war, the same ones that are trying to place me on some gods forsaken pedestal with Andraste. Now, I have work to do, Commander, and no doubt you do as well." It was a clear dismissal and the Commander needed no further prompting to get away from her.

"Very well, Herald," he ground out before stalking away, the icy wind nearly causing his cape to hit him in the face.

How regal.

No doubt they'd be chatting like friends again within the next day or so.

Ellana turned to Solas, noticing him for the first time. She looked exhausted. Solas wondered how long she had been arguing with the Commander before they even reached the Apothecary. They had started their War Table meeting hours ago.

"Can you conjure something I can destroy?"

Solas raised an eyebrow, almost daring her to ask again. She opened her mouth once more, but thought better of it. Instead she walked over to him and plopped down unceremoniously on the ground next to him. Her head hit the back of his cabin with a thud, her fingers playing with the snow on the ground.

"Why does he have such a stick up his ass! Elgar'nan's sagging butt cheeks, he's an infuriating man!"

Solas nearly choked at the creative slur she had come up with and noted that she had flopped on her back in the snow and proceeded to blankly stare at overcast sky. And she wondered why they brought up her age when she did things like this?

"Would you like to sit inside my cabin instead of the ground?"

"No, I feel my decent into madness should be public."

"Is there a reason why you and the Commander can't get along this afternoon?"

She threw her hands up in frustration, smacking accidently into his knee. "He is afraid of befriending the mages and I don't like that he is afraid of magic. We both don't like the fact that the Imperium is trying to enslave the mage rebellion, but he feels that the Templars should be our primary concern, even though they've only shown disdain for the Inquisition! I also don't like the way he spoke of Dalish mages in the war room today. He nearly let the word savage slip out as a descriptor. He isn't as bad as Vivienne, who's absolutely ridiculous in her views of Dalish mages, magic and culture, but Cullen is weary at best and it bothers me. What if my brother had been this sacrilegious Herald? What would the Inquisition do then? Lock him up for his own good? Force him to get the Templars so they can better control his magic? This mark is magically charged, he'd be trying to figure out how to use it instead of saving Thedas."

"I feel that you are over thinking things, _da'len_."

She wasn't, but he wasn't going to tell her that. Thedas didn't need her worrying over what ifs. Her brother wasn't here nor was he the Herald. Solas had many similar fears when he joined originally. The Seeker had threatened and snarled at him, just because he had magic, nevertheless the mark on the Herald's hand.

Ellana made a noise at the back of her throat that was nearly identical to Cassandra's. "You sound like Leliana and Josie. They said the same thing." She rolled onto her side, making it easier for her to look at Solas directly, even if it was directly up towards his face, "do you think I should be siding with the mages?"

Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. Did his opinion really matter in the long run? If it did, then either he was closer to Ellana than he thought or she was far too easily swayed, but he'd give his opinion regardless. "I think they have the best chance of closing the Breach, but the decision is ultimately up to you."

She groaned, rubbed tiredly at her eyes, but sat up, it seemed that she made up her mind. There was a frown her face when she turned to him again. "You're right. I hate it when you're right."

Solas grinned. "I'm always right, _da'len._ "

"Except when your wrong. Don't let yourself be consumed by your namesake, _Solas_. Now, I have to think of a way to apologize to the Commander for… overthinking…" she told him with a wink before brushing some snow off her and sauntering back towards her cabin. The necessary trip to the Apothecary long forgotten.

 **I hope you guys liked the chapter. This one was interesting to write since Solas was mostly just observing an interaction between Ellana and Cullen. I've always wondered why there wasn't more conflict with the Inquisitor, Josie, Cullen and** **Leliana. I mean, the Inquisitor isn't supposed to be that old in the cannon, I don't think. I guess it depends how you make them look, but the Dalish Inquisitor always looks so young to me, like early 20s and all of the advisers are in their 30s at least, I feel they should have more arguments and dialogue.**

 **Etiquette lessons with Josie are 100% going to be a thing. XD Also I received a question in the reviews, asking me who my favorite companions to travel with are. In Origins like liked Leliana, in Dragon Age II Fenris was my favorite and then in Inquisition (I know I'm going to get yelled at for this) I really liked traveling with Sera. At first I couldn't stand Sera (especially since my Inquisitor was Dalish), but I liked that she wasn't so serious in comparison to everyone else and when she was in the party she made a lot of jokes. The more that I got to know her character the more I realized how young she was and the hints at the abuse she went through endeared me to her. What can I say, I love a tragic backstory. Anyway, my favorite team to bring with me: Solas, Sera and Blackwall. Blackwall and Sera literally spend the entire time making sex jokes and ribbing at Solas. It's hilarious.**

 **Anyway, next chapter is going to have more Solas and Ellana interacting with one another. =)**

 **Also, review! They keep me super motivated to keep going and finish this story. If you have questions or constructive criticism I'd be more than happy to hear it! =D**

 **See you next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi, everyone, happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom!**

For all of the odd quirks that Ellana had, sewing was the most prominent and yet it was her most treasured secret. Solas watched her closely, always waiting for the anchor to consume her whole when he least expected it. Not that it had happened yet, but watching Ellana had made him notice the strange habits she had.

One being that she always plays with her braid before telling an outlandish story that Solas was still not a hundred percent convinced were true. There was also the way that she curses in long strings of hyper sexualized Elven whenever she got the chance, where she learned them Solas will never know, but she always takes pleasure in seeing him lose his composure after he hears her speak with the most innocent of expressions on her face. Or, how she talks in her sleep, something Cassandra complained about constantly while they were in the Hinterlands.

It took the Inquisition's inner circle months to realize that Ellana even had a side hobby that didn't include stabbing people or hunting. Solas had noticed that whenever someone tore a piece of clothing Ellana would be the first person to volunteer to fix it. At first, he thought that she did that because no one in the group even knew how to stitch a piece of fabric back together, but when Ellana didn't think anyone was around she'd pull out the various pieces of clothing she'd promise to fix and with a smile on her face she'd fix them. Even The Iron Bull didn't know about this quirk until that box arrived from her clan.

It had been a quiet afternoon, for Haven's standards, when Solas had been called to the war room to check the enchantments of an Elven box that had been allegedly sent by the Herald's family. The Spymaster and Cassandra were waiting for him in the war room, Ellana nowhere in sight. A small box sat on the table in front of them. The two were staring at it as thought it would attack them if left unattended.

Solas held back a deep sigh. He vaguely wondered how long they had this in their possession before calling him to look at it.

The box was beautifully decorated it was obviously a treasured item by the fine details carved into the iron bark. There was a child's rhyme he had not thought survived the fall of Arlathan delicately carved into the sides. It was one given to the children of Mythal. Ellana's name was written next to it in Elven, as well as a date, which Solas belatedly realized might have been her birthday. Solas could sense protective runes and magic embedded into the object, but none of it was dangerous or malicious in nature. It just seemed to be a wooden box, a beautiful one, but ordinary.

"Is there a reason that you want me looking at this item and not one of the many mages in your care from Redcliffe?"

Leliana gave him a pointed glare that made Solas' stomach churn. Despite the fact he was millennia older than this woman, he did not want to cross her. Even if she had no connection to the fade, she would end him if she felt he was too much trouble. With his power so depleted there was no way in his current state he could escape her wrath.

"Solas, we trust you more than we trust mages we've barely met. More importantly, that the box is of your people. We wanted to make sure that it wasn't dangerous," Leliana replied calmly, eye still resting on the box.

"I still say we destroy the box and its contents. I can sense the magic coming off it. I don't trust it going to the Herald."

She was never Ellana or even Lavellan when they discussed her in private, always the Herald. To them Ellana was there Herald and a champion for the humans, who couldn't be seen holding anything to do with her own people. Even though Solas had his gripes with the Dalish, they tried in their own misguided ways to keep traditions alive, no matter how mutilated and misunderstood they were. He was not going to let this women destroy something that was no doubt very precious to Ellana.

"Why don't you let the Herald look at the box? If her clan has sent it, the item belongs to her. There is nothing dangerous about it."

"Look, elf, I can sense the magic around it. Take it off. It could be dangerous." Cassandra snarled.

Solas resisted letting out a long suffering sigh before picking up the box and heading towards the door. He heard Cassandra draw her sword from behind him. "The magic isn't dangerous it is protective. Whatever is in this box was something the clan did not want broken," Cassandra looked like she wanted to stop him, but the Spymaster put a hand on her arm, keeping her in place. "I will deliver this to the Herald."

He walked out before either woman could respond. He didn't have the energy to explain ambient protective magic to Cassandra. Especially magic that had survived the fall of Arlathan. The box was just another mystery that surrounded Clan Lavellan.

Luckily, Ellana wasn't hard to find. She was chatting with Varric around the central campfire about what sounded like red lyrium. When her eyes landed on the item in his hands her eyes lit up and she quickly excused herself from her conversation with the dwarf.

She circled Solas with a predatory like grace and hunger, her eyes never leaving the box in his hands. "Where did you get that," her voice nearly cracked, he could see some unshed tears threatening to spill. She wouldn't want her people to see her crying, so Solas figured he'd move this conversation elsewhere.

"Why don't we open this parcel in your room and I'll tell you how it ended up in my possession?"

She nodded and rushed them both to her cabin. Solas looked around, he hadn't been inside since she the day she partially closed the Breach. Nothing had really changed. She had added a weapons wrack for all her different bows and knives. Her pack of unground herbs was on her desk next to small open book. Ellana closed the door and quickly took the box from his hands, pulled a key out from under her shirt and stuck it into the lock. The box immediately opened and inside of it tumbled out at least half a dozen different colored treads, needles, some pins and a tied stack of notes.

He turned away from her as she picked up the notes, untying each one and scanning their contents. This wasn't for him to watch and he knew that. He'd wait till she wanted to speak to him again.

"How did you manage to get this, Solas?" Her voice was thick with emotion. It was in this moment he realized how homesick she must be. He could at least visit the spirits he knew in the fade. He could even visit memories of Arlathan, see his old home in its glory. Ellana didn't have the ability. Nothing was Dalish in Haven or anywhere they camped, everything was built for humans. No one wanted her to remember her culture, just getting a little piece of it back must feel like the largest of victories and a huge relief.

Solas wished he could feel the same.

"Your Spymaster and the Seeker asked me to look at it before destroying it."

Ellana gasped and cuddled the box to her chest. "They better not, this was made by one of our craftsmen who designed it for my birth. It was a gift for my mother and her children. There's a twin to this box, one identical, save the name engraved on the bottom for my brother. They are meant to hold our small hobbies and memories. They are easy to travel with."

She then dug through the box and pulled out what looked to be gold earrings and squealed in excitement. She seemed to forget that Solas was there and when raised his eyebrow at her, Ellana flushed a little bit. "I had left these behind with my clan before the Conclave. If I didn't come back they were to go to another family member."

Ah, so they didn't just look like gold. They had real value to them.

"Did you expect to die at the Conclave?"

She shrugged a sheepish grin on her face. "There's a never a guarantee when dealing with _shemlen._ Elves are killed for less than coming uninvited to their Conclave."

Solas watched as she threaded multiple gold chains through her left ear, as well as add two gold cuffs near the tip of her right. Each appeared to be carefully designed and he'd need to get a closer look at them to see what the Dalish put on their jewelry because he swore he saw a wolf on one of the cuffs.

Ellana ran her hands on her ears with a smile on her face and she did something that Solas didn't expect.

She lunged at him and embraced him.

He could feel her lithe, but muscled form around him, gripping him tightly. Solas didn't remember the last time he had been hugged by anyone outside of the fade. He slowly put his arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze before pulling her away from him.

"Thank you for bringing this to me, Solas. It means a lot to me."

He could tell.

Days later Inquisition members began receiving small gifts from the Inquisitor in the form of sewn objects. Some gifts were better received than others. Sera, tackled Ellana to the ground with the strength of her hug for the haphazardly patterned pants Ellana had created for her.

Solas was the last to receive anything. He found a small stuffed wolf sitting on his bed with a note attached to a leg. He didn't recognize the handwriting, but he did know the language: Elven.

 _To match your necklace_

 _~Ellana_

His hand went to the age-old jawbone. She had been paying enough attention to know what animal it had come from. It seemed he wasn't the only one watching their teammates. Though, he thought it would be sacrilegious of her to create something in a wolf's image. He was going to need to figure out what designs were on her earrings, they could give him more insight into her clan.

A question that came him moments later… Where had she learned to write in ancient Elven? Every time he thought he had her figured out, she surprised him again.

 **I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I felt that I needed to have a hobby for Ellana that didn't have to do with killing. Sewing is going to keep coming back into the story till the end I think. Solas and Ellana finally had a moment together that wasn't him stalking her. XD It also wasn't overly broody for the first time in a long while.**

 **While I personally can't sew, I'm going to try learning the basics. I'm making the dogs halloween costumes...they're going to be Ace the Bathound and Krypto the** **Superdog, so I need to make some capes and sew on some logos...I also need to make my own costume, damn. At least I save money doing it myself.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for the favorites and follows this week! At least I know that people are reading what I'm writing! So, continue, favoriting, following and reviewing!**

 **Next week is going to be treat for you guys! It's going to be like 3K words!**

 **Till next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Friday everyone! So, I have some announcements at the bottom of the page, so read that if you want to know more about potential scheduling changes as well as hints about future chapters! Enjoy!**

Solas noticed that Ellana liked to bring strays back to Haven with her. Their once ragtag team of four easily expanded into a group of eight. It had all started with that blasted Red Jenny scarf and ended in that sham of an invitation to meet Vivienne. Since most of the new members of Ellana's rag tag group were wary of magic at the best of times and downright opposed to it at the worst, each meeting had left a sour taste in Solas' mouth.

The newest additions to their team made it more difficult for him to keep the charade of hedge mage, especially around Vivienne, Dorian and The Iron Bull. With two mages and one Qunari spy, he needed to make sure that he gave nothing away. It was always Ellana that poked and prodded at any and all holes in his stories. It was beginning to drive him mad, especially when she would do it in front of those three in particular.

And, unfortunately for Solas, Dorian and Ellana were rarely ever seen too far apart these days. Somehow in the short time that they've known each other, the Tevinter Altus had managed to weasel his way into Ellana's good graces, something that Solas had to fight to manage to be a part of in the first place. Though, from what Ellana had shared, the two of them had managed to get themselves lost in a future where Corypheus had conquered the world, so, Solas figured that had to help them bond somewhat. Though, he really doubted they had ended up in some kind of alternate future. The sheer amount of magic and research to manage time travel magic couldn't be, no, shouldn't be possible for _shemlen_.

Dorian himself wasn't the most agreeable of people. Solas lived across from him' he'd know. Somehow, even though all he did was whine, Ellana had taken a liking to him, which was something Solas was still questioning and they had been back at Haven for over a week while they were preparing to close the Breach for good. At least, they all hopped it was for good.

So, here he was, watching the camp prepare for battle. The sound of soldiers scrambling around to meet Commander Cullen's extremely high standards and Leliana's ravens were leaving Haven at a never-ending stream. There had been a recent snowstorm, leaving the mountains covered in a thick white sheet, only making it more difficult for travel. The only people he didn't see actively running around were the people of Ellana's inner group. It seemed that all of them received some kind of break from the chaos until the final push to the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

Even with all of the noise, things had become peaceful, at least until Dorian and Ellana came bustling around a corner. Ellana's hair was recently shaved on one half of her head and meticulously braided and decorated with different ironbark pins from her clansmen on the other.

It was a tradition that the hunters in her clan had started over five hundred years ago (a blink of an eye to Solas), or so she had explained to him. Even her brother had made one for her and Ellana had laughed when she'd put it in around the campfire. She showed the inner circle as a group in the tavern, pointing out that her brother was a shoddy craftsman at best and that his pin was hilariously deformed. It wasn't nearly as bad as she made it out to be, but they were siblings he could expect nothing less. Though he noticed, despite saying how awful the pin looked, she still had it in a very prominent spot in her braid where everyone was able to see it.

A huff and a curse in Tevine brought Solas out of his musings once more. He noticed that Dorian was holding a stack of wooden crates that piled high enough that he needed Ellana to guide him. Though, it seemed she was leading the poor man in circles. She seemed too smug for this to have been a mutually decided agreement. Solas wondered what kind of bet Dorian lost this time to have him carrying so many boxes.

" _Kaffas!"_

 _"_ Swearing isn't going to get you out of this, Dorian," Ellana replied with a teasing lilt to her already accented voice. One he was still trying to place.

Dorian grunted and placed the boxes down, wiped his brow and then sat on them, obviously ready for a break.

"You understand Tevine?"

Solas' ears perked up at the question. That was a very valid question. Where would an elf raised on a mountainside learn Tevinter swears? Solas knew that her clan traded with _shemlen_ , but they weren't close enough to Tevinter, nor would any elf willingly trade with the Imperium.

"Bits and pieces. I know someone that swears in Tevine with much more conviction than you do, Dorian."

Dorian put a hand over his heart, giving her the most hurt expression he could muster. "You don't mean that. I'm obviously the most extraordinary man form Imperium that you've ever met."

"Mm, I've met at least one better," she replied with a grin, "Now carry those boxes back to your room. You don't want your books to get ruined by the snow fall or Sera, who is watching you from the Tavern entrance with that crazed look in her eyes again."

Solas swore he heard Dorian squeak as he picked up the boxes and rushed into his cabin, locking the door behind him. Ellana turned to Solas and gave a long-suffering sigh.

"You see what I have to put up with, _hahren_? _"_

"Yes, what a travesty. Dealing with such dramatic humans."

"I can still hear you both!"

"That's the point, Dorian!"

There was loud grumbling from the inside of the cabin before Ellana motioned to move away. She sighed dramatically, "he needs time with his books. It has been a rough few days for him. The Blacksmith spat at him and the Chantry Sisters attempted to remove him from camp. Dorian pretends it doesn't bother him, but I know it does."

Solas put a hand on her shoulder. "The same way they whisper about the knife-eared Herald of Andraste?"

The young elf gave a nod her eyes scanning the camp, lingering on, no doubt, a few of the Inquisition members that gossip about her. "Hopefully, in a few days this will all be over."

Ah, to be young and so idealistic.

"Do you really think that even after this ends, the humans will let you go?"

Ellana let out a breath. "I'm not sure…there are still a lot of rifts to close all across Thedas, but I do miss my clan."

Solas nearly flinched. He tended to forget, like many in the Inquisition, that Ellana was away from home. It wasn't often that she even got to act Dalish or get any news from her clan. They had thought that she was a prisoner here for quite some time before the Inquisition even answered her clan's letters. Ellana had, of course, been furious that her family hadn't been told that she had survived that explosion at the Conclave and was no longer going to be put on trial.

"Have you gotten anything recently from your clan?"

She shook her head. "The last thing I heard from my brother was that he was thinking of coming to visit, but he's waiting for our Mother to okay the trip. This is the one time he regrets being her First."

Solas swore he heard a small sniff come from Ellana, but when he looked at her she looked perfectly composed, if not slightly glassy eyed. So, she was homesick.

Solas decided he wasn't going to let Ellana go off closing the Breach downtrodden. "What would your clan do on a day like today?"

Her ears twitched at the question her eyes lighting up. "Well, it's rather cold, the children would no doubt be causing all kinds of trouble. The halla would be cuddled up together. I'd be hunting some game off in the forest, or cooking whatever I caught. My brother would be telling some fanciful story by the fire about our history. My mother would be jadedly watching the interaction and wait to correct him on anything she figured was wrong, or not age appropriate."

"Is it really all that different from Haven?"

Ellana looked around and rueful smile on her face. "I suppose not. I think I miss my brother more than anything else. We've never been apart for more than three weeks since birth."

"Then I hope your mother okays his visit."

"Or I get to leave once the Breach is closed. Whatever comes first."

It wouldn't be over, not even close. He still needed to remove his mark from her hand and then her world would end. It didn't quite matter how bright this young woman made the world around her, Solas was going to bring the gods of old back and those without a connection to the fade were going to die to bring it about.

Solas was watching Ellana train with Dorian behind their cabins, Solas was observing from a distance. He had seen her fight many mages during their travels so far, but he had yet to see her spar with a mage, no doubt she had done this before. She weaved passed all his spells with ease. Solas imaged that she had done this with her brother. She lacked the general fear that many people of Thedas seemed to have of magic. Ellana charged head first at magic, avoiding it at the last second to get as close as possible to her target before attacking. More than once Solas wondered if she had a death wish when fighting mages in the field. Even The Iron Bull had more self-preservation, but always, somehow, ended up avoiding what their enemies threw at her.

The Tevinter mage had wanted to learn how to better defend himself against rogues, though he wondered after this if he was going to have a fear of fighting them instead. Ellana was more than happy to comply with a wicked grin spread from ear to ear across her face. Ellana was mostly just laughing at him as she circled him, slowly approaching. No matter how much he threw at her, she simply brushed passed it. It was a hunter playing with her prey.

"You know, the way you watch her, it can be seen as a romantic interest."

Solas spun around to come face to face with a young woman, a mage, and one he had yet to meet. She was more than likely part of the mage alliance, since she was leaning on a staff, a lazy grin on her face, bright blue eyes dancing in amusement. Not many Circle mages were willing to talk to him. He was an elf on top of being an apostate that had never been caught by Templars, not a good combination when dealing with bitter Circle mages. Though, her statement was a little alarming. He didn't watch Ellana that much. He didn't want his interest to be seen as anything other that general concern.

Ellana was a mystery he had yet to solve. There was nothing romantic about that.

"My observations are nothing romantic. I'm merely assessing the mark. It was killing her not long ago."

"You see, for some reason I don't believe you. You remind me of someone who pursued my sister for a time," the light from her eyes faded at the mention of her sister, but the smile remained as she watched Dorian go flying into a pile of snow, mustache drooping. Ellana was nearly doubled over laughing.

"It seems like you've lost Dorian. Maybe try again tomorrow," he heard Ellana tease. The two still hadn't realized that they were being watched.

Dorian retaliated by lobbing snow at her conjured by ice magic. Dorian never was much for ice magic, so it wasn't all that powerful, but it still rocked Ellana as it collided with her shaking form, nearly covering her.

The rogue wiped the snow from her face, a murderous intent in her eyes. Dorian readied his staff. "You Tevinter bastard."

The woman was still standing next to him. Didn't she realize he had nothing to say to her?

"Is there a reason that you approached me?"

"I hear you're the resident fade expert. It isn't often that I get to meet another non-circle trained mage," she confessed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind an ear.

Was she nervous?

Solas raised an eyebrow, at the remark. She looked like she was in regulation Circle clothing. "You weren't trained in the Circle?"

She snorted. "Don't let the clothing fool you. Most of my training was done by my father. I was only in a circle for a very short amount of time before the uprising. I still want to find out who ratted me out, I'd string them out by their entrails for all of Kirkwall to see, given the opportunity of course."

Ah, she's from Kirkwall. Solas wondered if she had ever met Varric. No doubt they would have interesting stories to share with one another.

"If you've survived this long, your father must have trained you well."

"He did. My sister helped afterwards. She's a better fighter than I'll ever be when it comes to magic."

Hm, a family of apostates. It was impressive that multiple generations of family in this area of Thedas managed to hide from Templars for as long as they had.

"What happened with the man that watched your sister?" Solas asked, as Ellana tackled Dorian to the ground and shoved snow down his shirt.

"He waited too long and lost his chance with her. Though, I think, in the end, she would have been happier with him than the man that she did fall in love with."

Solas hummed in agreement.

"It was nice talking with you," she commented before making her away from their alcove.

"I never got your name," Solas replied.

"You can call me Bethany. I should really get back to camp. I need to talk to The Commander. Some of the mages are concerned about the Templars that are left here and Fiona has left me in charge of communication."

Solas wrinkled his nose at the former Grand Enchantress's name. That woman was a fool and he wondered how she had lasted in power as long as she had. Though, Bethany seemed strong and capable. Her magic was gentle and in time, Solas figured that she might win the hearts of those in the rebellion.

"Alright, you little savage! I yield" Dorian shouted as he struggled to get Ellana off of him.

As soon as the words of defeat left Dorian's mouth Ellana hopped up, offering him a hand, which he took, and pulled him. "That is why you never cheat me. I will hunt you down until you give up or die…" she threatened, a teasing lilt to her voice, but her eyes were where Solas was hidden amongst the trees.

There was no way that she could see him?

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, you're very good at killing people. Now, I need a nice long drink to warm up after this little experiment."

"Sure, but you go ahead. I'm going to do some cool down stretches before heading back."

Dorian's mustache twitched at the thought of anymore physical activity. "I'll leave you to that." The mage walked off, disappearing through the tree line.

"You know, if you want watch our spar, you could have just asked. No need to lurk in the shadows, Solas."

Solas walked into the clearing, caught. He held up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Ah, but where would the fun be if you didn't have to work to look for me?" He teased, hoping that she would drop her line of questioning.

She grinned stretching her back, causing it to make a distinct popping noise as her vertebrae realigned themselves. "I suppose your right, but it would be nice if you were honest with me. I notice you staring quite a lot. If I called you out on it every time people might start thinking you're a stalker."

Solas scoffed. "Hardly."

"Well, whether you think so or not hardly matters to me," she told him lifting her arms over her head before making her way over towards the clearing's edge. "I'm going to go have that drink with Dorian. You're welcome to join us or you can just watch me go like you usually do," she replied with a wink before sauntering off towards the tavern.

 **Did you enjoy the longest chapter yet? Did you like seeing Bethany being introduced into the story? =D**

 **Before I mention potential scheduling issues, I want to say good luck to everyone that is starting or as started school this past week! I know a lot of people either started or went back to college. As someone who recently graduated, I can promise you that it you'll make it! All those starting up middle and high school this week, good luck to you as well! And for anyone looking for work, we'll all get jobs eventually!**

 **So, as I mentioned at the top of the page, I have been having some health issues with my eyes. While I have the next chapters written, if I can't see the words on my laptop, I can't edit it. Hopefully, things are gonna get better. I think I'm straining my eyes and need knew glasses. I recked them writing my thesis. (Don't read really old PDFs in a small font in dimly lit rooms).**

 **Anyway, if you've made it this far, than you get to know that there is going to be a huge plot twist later on in the story between Ellana and Solas. I've already started dropping hints. Let's see if anyone get start guessing it! They're going to get more obvious the further into the story. =D**

 **Please review, follow and favorite, they motivate me to keep posting especially though all this health crap. I need my eyes, thank you very much.**

 **See you next week,**

 **~Animerocker**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Friday everyone! Sorry this is coming out a few hours later than normal. I'm really sick and spent most of the day resting. Hopefully, this will all blow over soon. Enjoy the chapter!**

Haven had fallen and so had its fabled Herald. Solas can still feel the echoes of the souls lost in the avalanches, whether they were Templars, mages, soldiers or civilians.

All was lost and Thedas was doomed to a world with a Tevinter Magister as its ruler. Without Ellana, even with the Breach sealed, rifts were rampant all over Thedas, the people needed a leader and she had been their beacon. Now, Haven lay dark, silent and the only noise made was of them all walking through the snow, mourning. Everyone in the Inquisition was inconsolable.

As much as Solas couldn't stand Sera, she was taking Ellana's loss the hardest. The two elves had been close friends through their various lighthearted pranking and sharing rather lewd tales with one another. Sera had been the last one off the battlefield, the last person to see Ellana alive, telling them all to run. Dorian was comforting her as best he could, but she just clung to the ironbark bow that Ellana had given to her as a lifeline as she sobbed messily into the Altus' robes. It had been something that Ellana had brought with her from her clan, but felt that it was better used in Sera's expert hands. She hadn't disappointed, Solas figured that the archer killed just as many Red Templars as Solas had with his magic earlier that night.

Ellana had changed everything and in a single moment everything was lost.

Every thought he had ever had about this veiled world changed with that one elven woman. She was what he wanted the people to become. Even though she wasn't connected to the fade in a classic sense, she wanted to understand it, even if it was just for her brother's sake. Ellana didn't want to live in the past, she wanted to learn about it and she sought Solas out to attempt to fill in the large gaps she didn't know about the People. It was something the Dalish he had encountered prior to her had shied away from.

None of that mattered now, she was dead and the Inquisition essentially ended. He'd need to slip away within a day or so and meet with his spies. Maybe they could go underground and find a way to salvage this mess.

Already, Cassandra and the Advisors were fighting. Leadership was always challenged when tragedy strikes, but none of them were actually making decisions, just fighting on where to go next.

It wasn't long before they all stopped for the evening. The snow was becoming impossible to walk though and the mages that sealed the Breach were all reaching their breaking point. Everyone's mana was spent and needed to rest. Solas himself was slowly building his power back up and wasn't necessarily as tired as he could have been, but would play the exhausted mage for the evening.

Solas sighed, placed a small ward around the bedroll he pulled out near the fire and closed his eyes, hoping that the fade would take him to a more welcoming place then these snow covered mountains.

Solas quickly found himself in the fade. In the echoes of a small moss covered ruin that he had originally found himself in after millennia of rest. It was a comfortable, yet depressing reminder of what happened during his slumber. The once proud structure he had fallen asleep in was crumbling around him, a wisp of its former glory.

He sighed, clearing his mind and moving himself away from this depressing line of thought, though for a moment he swore that he felt a tug on his consciousness. That someone was attempting to come into his dream.

No one disturbed the Dread Wolf's slumber.

What Solas didn't expect was a visitor. It was an elven man, dressed in robes that could have been worn any time between the modern age and ancient Arlathan. He was around Ellana's age by Solas' estimate. His grey eyes were flashing in anger as he stalked up to Solas, who could feel this man pushing at his natural barriers in his mindscape, as if trying to push him to waking up.

He noticed that the young elf had his hair braided in a similar manner to Ellana with _vallaslin_ to Mythal along his cheeks. He honestly looked familiar, more like an ancient elf, than the ones of today, though Ellana was the same way. The two could be siblings. When Solas didn't greet or address him in anyway. He opened his mouth to speak and Solas was surprised when it came out in clear, crisp, elven.

 _"She's still out there! Ellana is freezing to death, calling for you all! Of all the times for me to wish she had a better connection to blasted fade."_

Solas' eyes narrowed. Was this a demon playing a trick on him? What angle was this creature trying to get at?

" _To what end are you here to tempt me?"_

Realization dawned on the possible demon and he tugged at his hair, something he had seen Ellana do more than once while thinking over world shattering decisions. It wasn't something a demon would know to replicate. _"I'm surprised that Ellana doesn't talk about me more for you not to recognize me. I'm her brother, Ven. She told me that she mentioned that we share dreams. My sister is still alive, Solas. She's close, but will not make it to your camp! Wake up!"_

The mysterious brother, the dreamer Ellana had been speaking about for months. His name was Ven. Solas was no one to kick a gift horse in the mouth and forced himself into the waking world once more. He looked to the far hill where they had all come from Haven and saw the briefest of green flashes.

She was alive, but dying if her brother was correct.

The mage shot up from his bedroll and sprinted past the Commander and Seeker who followed him in his haste towards the hillside. Both Cassandra and the Commander would faster than he was, their strides out pacing him, but not by much. And just like her brother had said, there she was, lips blue, her wrist at an odd angel and her hair disheveled, but she was alive that was all that mattered.

The Commander quickly covered her in the fur he kept about his shoulders and scooped her out of the snow. Solas summoned some fire, much to the ire of both Cassandra and the Commander, but the ex-templar was more adept at hiding it. Solas didn't care how much his magic worried their human sensibilities, he was going to keep all four of them warm as they walked about to camp. He needed to bring some color back to Ellana before she started losing limbs to frostbite. He heard her mumble something incomprehensible, still slightly conscious. "Ellana, stay awake," Solas said, as they made their way to the camp.

Her slightly unfocused eyes peeked from behind nearly frozen lashes. "Took you long enough to find me," she mumbled before going slack in the Commander's arms.

Solas sat with her the rest of the evening healing her and warming her half frozen body back to appropriate temperatures. She hadn't lost any limbs or appendages, thankfully. He had retied her braid, making sure he kept it in the style she had been wearing it in battle. He left the pins in a neat pile next to her bed, surprisingly, most of them made it through the long trek from Haven.

Dorian was in the chair next to him, asleep and snoring quietly. The Tevinter mage had earned a bit of respect from Solas when he helped heal Ellana, even after all of the mana he'd spend closing the Breach, Dorian had still pushed himself by attempting to heal and warm his friend.

He decided to ignore the humans that had started arguing the moment they put Ellana down. Her advisors were talking about what to do next now that their figurehead was back, even if she was still barely alive. Maybe after all of this she wouldn't want to be leading these people. It honestly wouldn't surprise Solas, they put far too much responsibility on this poor young elf. No matter how mature she acted for them she was still only in her early twenties. She was but an infant to these war veterans like the Commander and Spymaster and hadn't been training for her positions since she was a child like Josephine and Cassandra. Ellana had trained to hunt for her clan and that was it from what she had shared with her inner circle.

It seemed now that their Herald was back it was all right to plan their next move about her future without her being present.

"They still fighting?" A quiet voice rasped from his left.

He turned his head to the cot and gave a small smile. "Yes, da'len, but don't worry about them tonight. You need your rest."

"You need to stop calling me da'len. 'M not a child," she slurred before dropping back off to sleep.

Not a child indeed.

* * *

A few hours of rest later and yet the leaders of the Inquisition were still arguing. Ellana was waking up again, he could see her injured frame shift in the dim firelight from across camp. She sat up slowly, Mother Giselle was next to her, speaking quietly and Ellana's brows furrowed and she began to scowl. Solas wondered what the Chantry mother had said to her.

Ellana looked away from the Mother Giselle and made eye contact with him, her demeanor lighting up when she saw him, something familiar and to an extent safe. It was a look that he didn't deserve. His failed plan had almost gotten her killed, again. Solas made a move to walk over to her. He could at least make sure that her injuries weren't festering.

Between him standing and grabbing his staff, the humans had started singing.

All of them.

At once.

It was an odd change of pace and while it certainly lightened the mood, was foreign to Solas. No doubt some Chantry dribble.

While it sounded nice, Ellana was sending Solas confused looks and he shrugged, he was just as lost as she was. So, he made his way over to her, regardless of the human's song and sat down next to her, staff in hand. He pooled his mana and checked over her injuries. Broken bones were mending, but they would be sore for at least two weeks and then she'd need to train to recover whatever muscle mass she lost before she would be allowed out of anyone's sight. She was going to go mad with her Inner Circle doting on her for the foreseeable future.

By the time he was done their song had ended and everyone's tempers seemed to have cooled. The Advisors had begun speaking quietly amongst themselves, sending glances at Ellana, but keeping their voices down.

"Any idea what they were singing about?"

"Chantry things, I'd assume. Sounds like their religious tripe," Ellana muttered, making sure that Mother Giselle didn't hear her. The woman looked far too proud of herself and no doubt Ellana didn't want to incur her wrath.

Solas chuckled. "I'm glad that after all their preaching and attempts at conversion you have stayed the same."

She rolled her eyes, grey eyes glinting mischievously. "I've been told that it is very difficult to get me to change my mind. My brother used to tell me that I was more stubborn than fade demons. Though, now that I've fought them, I don't think it was much of compliment."

"All things considered, I'm very glad that you're stubborn. It's a rather endearing trait."

She rolled her eyes and suppressed a yawn. "I live to please. How did you all find me?"

Solas had been dreading this question since he wasn't quite sure if what he had witnessed in the fade had been a dream or if Ellana's brother had really spoken to him, but she was waiting for an answer. He debated on lying to her, it was becoming more difficult for him to want to deceive her. She put so much faith in him and yet, she had his mark on her hand and his magic had caused the hole in the sky.

Now was not the time to lie. Ellana was injured and deserved better than that in this moment.

"Oddly enough, an angry elven man came into my dreams shouting at me that you were still alive."

Ellana snorted. "Ah, my dear brother found you? I thought that I had called out to him as I was going in and out of consciousness in the cold."

"You have a very devoted twin," he responded, his eyes drifting towards where, in the far distance, Skyhold would be located. Another truth he was going to need to reveal to her soon. If they were going to survive, the Inquisition was going to need a new base of operation.

Ellana tapped him on the shoulder, and gave him a slightly annoyed look. He followed her line of sight and saw Varric talking in hushed tones to some recruits and occasionally pointing to Ellana.

"I'm going to kill Varric."

"At least the rumors will be in your favor with him spinning them."

Her gaze fell back on her advisors, who were talking in urgent hushed tones. Ellana sighed, tugging at her her matted, bloodstained, hair agitatedly. She looked down at the pile of pin neatly sitting beside the cot, picked the one her brother made and stuck it back in her hair.

She was ready to be the savage Herald this world didn't deserve, but desperately needed.

"I suppose," she muttered, getting off the cot with a growl. She swayed slightly, Solas caught her arm, but she pulled out of his grasp with a shake of her head and hobbled over to her advisors.

She dismissed him with a wave behind her back.

Skyhold could wait till morning.

 **And we're almost to Skyhold! I'm so excited, I'm going to be bringing in everyone extremely sarcastic DA2 protagonist very soon. I have quite a bit packed into the next half of story. It's strange to think that this story nearly half way done. I have a lot of twists and turns to pack into the story now, so don't worry. =)**

 **I put in a few more hints for what the big reveal is for Ellana. I wonder if anyone has seen it yet?**

 **Anyway, thank you for everyone that favorited, followed and reviewed. I had a lovely reviews post something this morning (my time), hoping that they'd see new content soon, well I hope that I didn't disappoint. Keep up those reviews though! I love hear feedback, guesses, constructive criticism, ext.**

 **As for some health updates, my eyes are getting better. As it turns out, I had some rather awful sinus pressure behind my eyes causes them to strain, blur and water. =/ I have a nasty cold now, so hopefully after this all clears up my vision issues will fix themselves. Did you know colds can make your ears itch? I didn't, colds suck, stay healthy. For all those in the path of the hurricanes hitting Florida and the South Eastern US, stay safe!**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Friday! It's almost officially fall and I'm so happy! My birthday is next week! Enjoy the chapter and see you at the bottom! =D**

Giving Skyhold to the Inquisition was one of the harder decisions that Solas had made since waking up. This structure, while different than what he remembered it being, held a lot of memories, times when he wore his title of the Dread Wolf with pride. His people used this place as a central point in his resistance. He could still feel the ancient magic throughout the fortress, calling out to him like an old friend. Not for the first time he wished that he was back at his full power. The people of this world didn't understand true fear of magic until they'd seen an elven "god" wreak havoc with nothing but a thought. He could stop this Elder One and get his orb back without so much as breaking a sweat. But, ideal wishes did not stop the problems at hand.

Not for the first time, Solas found himself sitting in the garden against a tree older than the fortress that lay around it, as overgrown and tangled as the fauna was, he enjoyed it nonetheless. There was more magic in the center area that he could absorb, syphoning off long buried wards.

It also tended to be quiet, since none of the nobles wanted to get dirty in the overgrowth, but that was all going to change soon, so the rumors claim. The gardens were the most untouched areas of the fortress, though the humans were planning on destroying parts of it to create a more Orleasian friendly setting. It made his stomach churn just thinking about it. While much of the fortress garden was overgrown, there was a beauty to it.

Solas heard the deliberate sound of crunching leaves to the left of his head. He turned his head to see Ellana approaching. She was using a crutch to walk, causing the usually silent rogue to make unnecessary noise. He could see her nose crinkle in distain at the sounds the wood was making against the leaves and he suppressed a laugh.

The poor woman had broken more than one rib escaping the avalanche that consumed Haven and nearly destroyed the Inquisition. She had been lucky none of ribs had punctured one of her lungs, but magic only healed so much and she was confined to light walking with a crutch for the next few days between healing sessions, much to her distain.

The humans had named her Inquisitor two days ago, putting another title on her already burdened shoulders. She wore her title well, better than worn his name in the past. There was no pride obstructing her vision. The collapse of Haven had humbled her somewhat, not that she really ever had power clouding decisions. She wasn't nearly as innocent as she had been when she started her journey, they had lost a few good men and women in the fight and it haunted her. Haunted everyone, if Solas was being perfectly honest with himself.

There was added pressure for her to heal now, though she didn't take anything any healer said seriously, which was making the process slower than it should have been. She should be in bed resting instead of wandering around Skyhold, which was in a state of disrepair. Something could fall and kill her at any moment, but she didn't really seem to care.

Then again, Ellana had always paced when she was nervous, she had run laps around Haven before she made any lasting decision in the war room. It must be driving her mad that she can't run around. From what he had heard she has to travel across Thedas to further the Inquisition's reach as their leader and deal with Orlesian politics and nobles. There were even mentions of Ellana needing to attend a ball at the Winter Palace. If she ever felt the need to pace nervously, now would be the time for her to start.

Things were starting to get out of hand for the young Dalish hunter.

"I thought I might find you here," she said, slightly out of breath. There was a faint wheeze to her breathing that shouldn't have been there. Were her lungs bothering her? He made a move to get up and, but she held up a hand, halting him. Solas settled himself back against the tree, not wanting to get in her way or make her trip and hurt herself further.

"Was there a reason that you decided to seek me out?"

"I've never needed a reason before, but if I have to have one, I suppose I can ask in an official capacity to see how you're settling in. Everyone seems to like it here so far. Dorian has been complaining about the lack of variation in the library, but I know he loves that he has his own little corner to be a book worm in," she replied, a teasing grin on her face.

Solas rolled his eyes at Ellana's jab at Dorian, but figured that he should reply. "I'm settling in fine. I plan to start frescos in the rotunda. If that is alright with you?" He had wanted to do something to celebrate her accomplishments in a distinctly Elven fashion and he had always had a talent with paints.

Ellana turned her eyes skyward, as if asking for guidance. Solas had to hold in a laugh."I wish people would stop asking me permission to do things. If you want to paint, paint. I'm not going to stop people from their hobbies because I was named Inquisitor. This fortress is hardly mine. We literally just decided to occupy it four days ago."

Solas mouth twitched, tugging at a smile at her behavior. She would never stop amusing him. Nor was she quite ready to rule as Inquisitor. He honestly figured she'd never quite be ready for the responsibility, but her childish moments were what made her who she was and Solas wouldn't replace that for anything.

She swung her crutch towards him as she hobbled over to sit next to him on the ground. A moment later she took his hand in her own. Solas jumped, startled by the contact. He'd never realized how thin and callused her fingers were, nor how cold, but that could be because of the mountain air.

It wasn't often Ellana initiated contact with anyone other than Dorian or Sera. "How are you really? I know seeing a Darkspawn Magister wasn't something anyone planned for. I've had to talk Sera down more than once. The poor girl just can't handle the thought of another Blight. I just want to make sure that you're okay. You, Sera and Blackwall were the closest anyone got to the Archdemon-Dragon-whatever, besides me," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

Solas wasn't sure if should take his hand back or not. It wasn't often that anyone moved to touch him beyond trying to kill him or shove past him. He couldn't even count how long it had been since someone had held his hand in such a caring manner. The world didn't deserve Ellana, she was far too kind to the people she thought as her own.

The gesture seemed innocent enough. The contact was probably just as much for her as it was for him.

This woman would never stop amazing him. He gave her a small, but genuine smile. "I assure you that I'm taking this better than Sera. This Elder One is just another enemy that we need to figure out how to beat and since we know the Orb is Elven we know that he has been lying to his people about where he received powers. Now, we need to figure out how to take them away."

Ellana squeezed his hand a little tighter, not in a painful way, but it was getting there. He could feel a callus on her left hand, rough from years of archery and knife work. "Solas, do you have any idea what the artifact is? Beyond the fact that it's Elven, of course."

He felt his throat tighten for a moment. As secluded as they were and as much as he trusted her, she could never know who he was, it was too dangerous, she was doomed to die from his mark and he couldn't bear seeing her reject him. It would be cruel to tell her and it would make working with her more difficult, but when her grey eyes met his, he felt his resolve weaken, but it didn't crumble. So, lying to her was necessary.

"No, but once we get it out of the Elder One's hands, it should make things easier," Solas lied through his teeth, hoping that with the speed in which he answered and the genuine determination in his voice, he'd be able to fool her.

Of course, Ellana looked disappointed for a moment. Did she know he lied or was she just upset that he didn't know any more information about the artifact?

"Solas, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to me. I do hope you realize that."

Damn. She knew he lied. How did she always know?

"I do. You have fought for my freedom since the day we met. I won't turn my back on you." He deflected, hoping that using guilt would keep her off his back, if only for a little while.

"That isn't quite what I'm talking about and you know it, but sure, play coy and continue lying to me."

Her grip loosened in his. Was she leaving? He wasn't quite ready for that. He gripped her hand as she attempted to pull away, nearly setting her off balance.

"Is it true that you are going to be attending a ball?"

He felt her entire body sag against the tree in exaggerated horror. Her attention was successfully diverted.

Finally.

"Yes, Josie is trying to find something suitable for all of us to wear. I just hope she realizes that I'm going to be wearing something traditionally Elven to the Palace. The humans have been talking about some kind of suit and I know I'll look ridiculous in it. I don't care what Josie says about uniformity. As they say, you can take the elf from the Dales, but you can't take the Dalish out of the elf," Ellana replied, burring her hand in her hands towards the end.

"I'm nearly positive no body says that." He teased and turned to him and grinned.

"Maybe I'm spending too much time with Sera…"

Solas wrinkled his nose at the mere thought of spending more time with that girl than necessary and Ellana chuckled. He had no idea how Ellana enjoyed being in Sera's company, but then again, they were nearly the same age and they loved getting into harmless trouble, so that could be it. They understood each other on a level that Solas would never comprehend. To Solas, Sera was an immature girl that was in over her head. She was talented with a bow, but had no intellect to back it up. Ellana obviously saw something different, because through Sera's friends and the war table, they had been making some political waves. Some minor rebellions had happened and there were even some noble houses that had ben put in disgrace and it was all because of Sera.

Was there something to that girl that Solas was missing? None of what she said really ever made sense and she was never willing to listen to anything Solas said, so he never really found too much of reason to engage with her beyond pleasantries, if even that much.

"She isn't nearly as bad as you think she is. I'm even teaching her Elven."

Solas raised an eyebrow impressed. "Now, how did you manage that?"

"Told her I knew some really dirty phrases and she just _had_ to know them. But, I told her she needed to understand the basics of the language first. She's a quick study," Ellana replied, eyes twinkling her grin infectious. And here he thought that Sera would never want to take part in learning the old language. The only issues he could foresee is that Ellana might not be completely fluent in the Ancient tongue. Not many Dalish can read or write. The Keepers and Firsts of the clans Solas had visited seemed to hoard the knowledge of literacy to themselves. Then again, he'd seen Ellana write to him before and he'd been impressed with her penmanship. If she had question, Solas was nearly positive she'd come to him for answers.

"Is it petty of me to wish it had been difficult for her?"

"A bit, but now we might not be able to poke fun at everyone now that Sera will understand parts of what we're saying."

Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. At least she was getting some kind of background in her true heritage. Maybe one day Sera could appreciate the culture of her bloodline.

Then again, that would be like getting water from stone.

 **I liked writing this chapter. It wasn't originally going to actually be a thing until I realized I needed something between this and meeting Hawke. Also, surprise! You're all going to get a chapter in Hawke's POV next week! Now that we've reached the Skyhold milestone, there will be chapters in both Hawke's and Solas' POVs. I felt like I needed some super sarcastic and self degrading POV that wasn't Solas, but was someone that really understood what was going on with the plot. Things are going to be getting exciting now that the plot has developed a bit more. =)**

 **To everyone dealing with hurricane damage, I wish you the best of luck. I have family out in the Caribbean and in Southern Florida who had to deal with a lot of damages and general destruction. I hate hurricane season. So, I guess my message here is: stay safe!**

 **I'm still dropping hints about who Ellana really is and her relationship to Solas, so I hope some of you guys have started figuring it out. =3 Anyway, thank you to all the lovely people that have reviewed, favorited and followed. Please continue! I love seeing feedback and genuine interest in my writing.**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry that this is going up a little later than usual. My excuses will be at the bottom. Enjoy. =)**

When Marian Hawke had pictured the Inquisitor, the famed "Herald of Andraste", she had imagined someone taller and less strikingly Dalish. Hawke knew she was an elf, but the Inquisitor looked different from any of the elves she had met in the past. She wasn't nearly as tiny as Merrill had been, actually, she was only a little bit shorter than Fenris, which was quite the feat on a female elf. What was really different was her frame. She was built a little bit more broadly, but somehow was as lithe as Marian would expect a rogue to be. She also hadn't expected the Inquisitor to be so young it hurt.

Had Marian ever been that young? She could barely remember it. Then again, she had been drunk for most of her twenties...and her thirties. Marian shrugged, the Blight tends to do that to people. Living in Kirkwall also tended to create drinking problems…maybe she was on to something.

Varric had certainly painted a picture of her that left Hawke thinking that this woman was the size of a mountain. But, here she was, well they both were, standing on the battlements of Skyhold, face to face, with Varric standing between the two if things got heated.

This fearless leader apparently has had shouting matches with Cullen on a regular basis, the Inquisitor wouldn't be afraid to yell at her. Marian knew that the Herald has many reasons to shout at her. She was the woman who had accidently started the mage rebellion and then ran off with the man who had actually blown up the Kirkwall Chantry, leaving the rest of Thedas to deal with the aftermath.

Across from Hawke was the woman who had put a wedge in the Mage-Templar war by creating some kind of truce with the mages. She then closed the Breach threating to consume the world and is now fighting the ex-templars and crazed Darkspawn Magister that are trying to destroy Thedas.

The Herald's hair was shaved and braided, her ears laced with different kinds of piercings. She was an odd looking elf, almost regal in appearance, but the grin on her face, stopped her from looking like she had a stick up her ass, unlike the Grad-Enchanter she had run into earlier. A shiver went down her spine at the sight of Vivienne. Varric had warned her about the Ice Queen, but ugh…

The Herald didn't address Hawke first. The Inquisitor spoke to Varric who let out a small cough. "Cassandra is going to kill you, you do know that?" Her accent was hard to place it sounded nothing like Merrill's. It had more a musical tone to it that it almost sounded unnatural.

The dwarf shivered at the statement. "I was protecting my friend. If it was your brother, you would have hidden him."

She shrugged with a grin that was more teeth than anything else, Marian would go so far as to call it feral. "You aren't wrong, I would burn the world down to save my brother, but I'm just warning you. You might want to make sure that you are constantly around people that would be willing to get between you and Cassandra. The list is very short. It just consists of me and Bull, so keep that in mind."

Varric snorted and motioned to Marian, "Yea, well, here is the woman of legend, Marian Hawke. Hawke, this is Ellana Lavellan, the newly crowned Inquisitor and Herald of Andraste."

The Herald's face twisted at her titles. It seemed she wasn't a fan of being in charge or maybe it was the titles weren't to her liking. Marian could relate to that feeling all too well.

Marian held out a pale hand to shake and the Inquisitor took it and grasped it firmly. She could feel the Inquisitor's calluses from years of training and hard labor. "It's nice to finally meet the woman that Varric tells all his tales about."

"Don't take them as fact. Varric tends to lie, a lot."

"They're not lies, they're embellishments. The stories wouldn't sell if they didn't have a little more drama to them."

"You walk a fine line, Varric. My life is plenty tragic without the additions you've added."

The Inquisitor laughs quietly. It's sounds almost cute, not something that Marian would expect out of a leader of an international organization as large as the Inquisition. It also wasn't a noise that a trained killer would make and if the stories that Varric had told of the way that she eliminates enemies, she sounded far too innocent.

"Glad to be entertaining you, er-Inquisitor."

"Ellana, please, Inquisitor if you feel you need to be formal. Herald is blasphemous and not only offensive to Andrastians, but also to my people. I wish they would listen to me and respect my discomfort."

Marian nodded sympathetically, Champion is a title that she had never wanted, but it was trust upon her shoulders at too young an age to truly understand the consequences.

So, Marian explained the situation, brought Ellana up to speed on everything that needed to be done, but before she could leave the elf grabbed her arm. "My people know that you've smuggled Anders into Skyhold. Keep a firm handle on him. We have enough mages and Templars here to subdue and kill him."

Marian's blood ran cold. How had she known? They had snuck him in with pilgrims in the dead of night. Bethany had been working here for months. They couldn't have known that she was the one who had let them in?

The shock obviously shown in her face because Ellana grinned, "Your sister is not as subtle as she thinks she is. I'm bringing in a specialist that researches and preforms exorcisms and curses. If there's enough of your Anders left, we can save him from the Spirit that is attempting to consume him."

Marian sucked in a breath and looked at Varric in disbelief. There was a cure for possession? But, the dwarf just shrugged. "Look, Shadows here has a lot of weird elven connections. Apparently, her family is a big deal in the Dalish mage world."

Ellana rolled her bright grey eyes. "My clan has been known to take in odd mages over the years, if those mages left to go to other clans, they tend to keep in contact. But, this mage didn't even need convincing to come, he was on his way regardless."

"And why is that?"

Marian felt that she knew the answer. "He's family. My brother is coming with one of the clan's guards."

Varric smiled. "So, I finally get to meet this mysterious brother of yours. You talk about him often enough. I'm glad that I'll be able to see this guy for myself."

The Herald gives him a genuine smile before giving them both a wave and excusing herself for a war meeting. Marian was more than glad to have not become Inquisitor to this crusade, it seemed like so much work. The thought of all of it made her shudder.

After she was out of sight Marian turned to Varric.

"I'm guessing Ellana tells interesting stories about her clan then?"

"Something like that. Shadows is a twin and apparently, she has been sharing dreams with her brother since they were children. Shadows protects him from demons in his sleep."

Marian's brows furrowed. "I've never heard anything like that before. My siblings were twins and they never mentioned anything like that and Bethany is a mage as well, while Carver wasn't."

She nearly choked on her younger brother's name. It still hurt to think about how she lost him and the devastation that it caused her family.

Noticing her distress Varric changed the subject, "So, you brought Blondie?"

"I couldn't leave him on his own. Andraste knows what he'd get into if I wasn't around to constantly watch him."

"So, you brought him to the Inquisition headquarters, where if they find out that you've brought him here, they'd kill him on sight."

"It seems that they all know that he's here anyway. I don't really see the problem."

"You're putting the entire Inquisition at risk. You're very lucky that Shadows is so damn nice that she'd call in a special favor from her clan to try and help your possessed lover. She's putting a lot on the line here and I hope you know that." Varric warned, showing an unusual amount of protectiveness towards the Inquisitor. Marian would go as far to say that he's fond of the Inquisitor.

"I'm going to keep a close eye on him, Varric. I rarely let him out of my sight. It was one of the reasons I really didn't want to get involved with this war. It wasn't until both you and Bethany begged me to come back that I even considered coming out of hiding. I'm not going to let Vengeance get the better of me again. I'm tired of that blasted demon running the show and so is Anders."

"Is there even any of Blondie left in there?"

Marian sighed, running a hand through her short dark strands. "Yes, there is. I know there has to be. Vengeance has no time for love."

The dwarf sighed, "Just keep him away from Shadows. She'll do anything to save him, even if it puts her life at risk. I don't want to have to put a bolt in Blondie if I don't have to."

Marian was taken aback by Varric's defense of the Herald. She hadn't thought that he was truly devoted to this cause, but looking at him now, it seemed that this Dalish woman had lit a fire in him that Marian hadn't seen since before their Deep Roads excursion over a decade ago.

Andraste's flaming ass, she was getting old.

A bloody decade.

Damn, it had really been that long.

The two stood in silence for a moment just letting the mountain air cool their tempers. "Wanna get a drink?"

Marian grinned, "Is that even a question?"

Varric laughed, walking ahead towards what Marian assumed was the Tavern.

"Did I tell you that we have a Qunari spy and mercenary leader working with us? You're going to love him, Hawke."

She rolled her eyes before following the over enthusiastic dwarf. "Well, he can't be any worse than any other Qunari I've ever met," Marian grumbled making her way into the Tavern to go and drink all coherent thoughts out of her head for the evening.

 **Did you like Hawke? I like her. It's different from the ruminating of Solas' mind anyway. At last we've finally reached my favorite part of DAI, which is running around Skyhold and doing all the side quests. XD Anyway, sorry that this went up a few hours later than it usually is. One, it was my birthday yesterday and since it was my birthday, I decided to give myself the night off and not write, forgetting that that meant that my editing day was gone and I'd need to do it all today. Cut to today, my internet borked out. Comcast is having nation wide issues apparently, ugh. So, I'm getting this up between major crashes in my internet.**

 **To top everything off, my laptop is also breaking. Its a five year old macbook pro (the dear has a CD drive and everything). It originally ran on the Mountain Lion system and officially can not update anymore because it can not handle it (wipes away a single tear).**

 **Anyway, enough about my issues. Onto great news! Did you know that there are actually stuffed nugs out there in the real world? Well, I got one of those little pink cuties for my birthday! Then my dogs tried to steal it multiple times. What a day.**

 **Thank you for everyone that has been reviewing, favoriting and following! =D Keep it up!**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, long time no see! I had to take a mental health week from Fanfiction, but I'm back! Enjoy the chapter! More update notes will be at the bottom!**

It had taken some time, but Solas had finally brought Ellana into the fade with him while she was sleeping. It wasn't a decision he made lightly. He didn't trust just anyone in the fade with him, but he felt that they had become close enough friends to share this side of himself with her. Things were easier for him in the fade, they always had been. He had met some of his closest friends in the fade whether they were spirits or fellow dreamers.

Then again, Ellana had mentioned that her bother was a Dreamer, so she would hopefully be familiar with the feeling of being brought into a dream. From what he had been told, it can feel jarring to those not used to it. It would be interesting to see Ellana off balance though. The young woman was always so guarded. No matter how much she tells us of her family and friends from her clan, they were always minor details, nothing specific and the settings were always vague. Maybe, drawing her into the fade would bring show him something of her past that she hadn't disclosed before.

Solas supposed the next thing to do was pick a setting to bring Ellana to. He eventually decided to bring them both to Haven, something familiar to both of them and constantly in their thoughts. Haven fit perfectly, it was something that was on both of their minds. The death and destruction of their previous home will haunt all the survivors for some time. It was an easy space to access and Solas brought her unconscious mind back to their old home without any struggle.

So, here they were, standing in the snow-covered paths of Haven near the center campfire that Varric would regularly stand at, telling stories. The entire space was devoid of life, just the quiet whistle of wind stood between the two of them. Ellana was dressed in hunting gear he hadn't seen her in before. It was form fitting, made out of quality leathers, something he hadn't seen on many Dalish elves. The design reminded him more of the assassins from Arlathan and it struck him how much she resembled the Ancient elves more so than modern elves. The armor glowed with enchantments woven into the threading, it was too specific for her not have seen something like this before. He wondered if this was what Ellana saw herself in or if Solas wanted to create an image of her in clothing from his era, maybe it was a little bit of both. She honestly reminded him of his Spymaster from before he created the veil. They had similar facial features and dispositions. Solas vaguely wondered if Ellana was a descendent from his long dead…friend.

Were they related in some way? No, there was no point in asking, Ellana wouldn't know an ancestor that far back in her lineage. So, Solas let the thought pass.

Ellana was staring up at the Breach, her brows furrowed. "I swear I just closed that blasted thing…"

Ah, she was already noticing discrepancies, impressive. There was no doubt in his mind that she had been brought into dreams before. Ellana stilled for a moment and let out a long breath and waved her left hand around. Solas vaguely wondered what she was doing.

She obviously caught his staring and when Ellana turned to look at him a wide grin on her face. "I'm not cold while I'm standing in the snow. The Breach is back, but my mark isn't flaring…you know that it's rude to pull people into dreams without asking right?"

Solas rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything to the contrary. It certainly wasn't considered polite in Arlathan to take someone into a dream without their permission. Honestly, he could have been brought before a local judge for such an infraction of decorum.

"It isn't nearly as fun to ask first. It didn't take you that long to figure it out."

She shrugs, nudging a bit of fade snow with her toe. "My brother pulls me into dreams all the time, but he does it with less finesse, but then again, he probably doesn't care," she grumbled, arms crossed, no doubt thinking about her rather mysterious brother and the scolding she was going to give to him when he pulled her into his next dream.

Solas got a small taste of her brother's lack of finesse when he invaded Solas' mind to find Ellana half dead in the snow outside of Haven.

A thought suddenly struck him and if he could sweat in the fade he would have started. He completely forgot that she had a frame of reference for the way that being pulled into a dream felt. What if she realized that his control over dreams was superior to her family and she realized that his methods were too refined? Hopefully she wouldn't realize that the reason he easily pulled her into his dreams without her noticing was because he had millennia of practice.

Though, from the way that she was looking around with genuine wonder, it seemed that she wasn't attempting to learn his deepest secrets. No matter how many times she had hinted that she knew something about his heritage and past.

"Why are we here, Solas?" She asks again as they make their way towards the dungeons where he originally met her.

"I figured we could reminisce and speak without worry of being overheard," he replied as they approached her old cell, "this is where I met you. By all accounts you should have been dead."

"Good thing that I'm great at not meeting the expectations of my elders." Ellana replied warily.

Solas let out a humorless chuckle. "While I don't think that your statement is entirely true. I am very glad that you didn't die. I had tried everything I could think to close the rifts and then you came, right when I was about to run."

"You were going to leave?"

He flinched. He hadn't meant to let that slip, but the damage had already been done, so he might as well explain.

"As you know, Cassandra and I didn't trust each other, the world was ending around me, all the spirits I could consult disappeared when the Breach appeared. It was all I could think of doing. I had been threated at being made tranquil more than once. It just seemed logical to leave," he replied, thinking back to that moment when Ellana had changed everything, when she had closed that first rift. She had brought hope back into the world. It was when had his mission had become to protect this young woman from harm instead of attempting to destroy the veil he had so painstakingly created.

He turned back to Ellana and there was a warm smile on her face. "I'm glad that I was able to convince to stay. You've become a steadfast friend for me. You remind me of those that I left back home with my clan."

Solas blinked, surprised by her confession. She couldn't be farther from the truth. He was a completely different breed of Elf in comparison to her, but the sentiment was touching nonetheless. "I remind you of your family?"

She gave a quick nod as the scene around them changed to an open field that they had rested at in the Hinterlands a few weeks ago, jarring Solas slightly. He didn't do that and saw Ellana's anchor clad hand glowing in front of her as she concentrated on the scene in front of them. Did she change the setting around them? It should be impossible for her. She wasn't a mage. Was she using the mark, his magic? Had she been practicing this? What did she and her brother do when he visited her in the fade?

"You and my mother would get along, you seem to enjoy the same topics of conversation. She loved to tell stories of Arlathan, the People, the old gods, spirits and our culture. She delved deep within the fade to learn long forgotten history and secrets from ages past. She'd tell them to me and my brother when we were young," She explained quietly, playing with a branch of a tree that had materialized in front of her. There was a bittersweet smile on her face as she recounted her childhood.

"You obviously inherited her ability to weave stories, Ellana," he had told her this before, as had Varric, but she never quite seemed to believe either of them.

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me. I know the legacy that I have to live up to back with my clan. My mother is a true master at her crafts," she responded fondly, stretching out like a cat on the grass beneath them. "Though, I think with all the stories I've shared by the campfires at Haven and during my travels I'm getting quite good."

"Unsurprising, practice does make one better at their craft," he replied, sitting down next to her as a breeze rolled through the meadow.

"Have you been practicing your stitching then? Or am I going to need to fix the rips in your robes again?"

Solas felt his cheeks color slightly. "I think I have mastered enough finesse with a needle and thread to mend my own clothing."

She rolled her eyes as a pair of leggings that looked remarkably similar to his own appeared with a visible tear at the knee next to a needle and thread. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Is this really how you want to spend your time in the fade?"

"I've done stranger things in the fade and have been brought in under significantly worse circumstances."

That raised Solas' interest. "Like what?"

"My brother tended to accidently call me into the fade when we were younger. Mind you, he was a horny bastard as a child, still is now. You can imagine some of the odd dreams I would accidently walk into because his magic would reach for me when we were sleeping."

That caused Solas to let out a genuine laugh. Their connection was something he hadn't heard of since the ancient days in Arlathan. Twins were always special, their magic would bind them for eternity in ways that no one could comprehend besides the twins themselves. "That sounds…uncomfortable."

She snorted. "That's one way to put it, now mend those leggings."

It seemed their time talking seriously was over, so Solas sighed and began to attempt to look like he'd practiced since she showed him how to mend. He'd listen to the details that Ellana had imagined up, to the rustle of leaves, to the sounds of birds and the nearby creek. He could even see the Inquisition campsite in the distance. She forgot nothing, impressive for someone who isn't supposed to have access to magic.

Had she always been able to do that or had she learned once she received the mark? He turned to talk to her, but she looked rather peaceful resting. If anyone in the Inquisition deserved time to rest it was Ellana.

He'd question her another time.

 **I hope you liked the chapter! I know it isn't the way things progressed in the game, but my version of Ellana wouldn't initiate something with Solas when she 100% knew that it was in the fade. I once again hinted at the big story twist in this chapter. Maybe even explicitly said some stuff. =3**

 **So, sorry for not updating last week. I had the chapter partly ready, but not quite finished the way I wanted it. I had a really rough week emotionally. I got two more rejections from jobs as well as my dad telling me I'm a ruined piece of trash and I just needed to take a breather for a week. My anxiety got the better of me and I ended up crying for like two days because I'm really frustrated that I can't find work and having one of my parents tell me that since I'm not working I'm a ruined piece of garbage for not being in the place they expected me just put me in a really dark place.**

 **Anyway, on a lighter note, the next chapter is going to be longer than this one and it's one of my favorites. =D I'm super excited for it. It's actually one of the first chapters I wrote for this story.**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy Friday! I thought it was Thursday for some reason, almost forgot to post. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It's one of my favorite little filler chapters. Enjoy!**

Solas didn't often eavesdrop, but conversations tended to echo throughout the rotunda, especially those between Ellana and Dorian. They made no effort to keep their voices down. Solas often wondered if it was done on purpose in some misguided attempt to keep him up to date on the gossip going around Skyhold.

He'd been kept up to date on the near incidents between Hawke's possessed lover and a few suspicious Templars, Sera's newest prank on the Ambassador and her noble guests, Varric's last attempt at trying to play match maker with Ellana, and he even heard about Bull's plan to create havoc by launching Krem's stuffed nugs into the air on the battlefield. All in all, Ellana and Dorian kept Solas thoroughly in the know about all that happened within Skyhold. Though, this conversation in particular stopped Solas' painting dead in its tracks.

"So, you have a thing for former Templars? I would have never guessed."

Solas' brows furrowed. Was she sleeping with the Commander? He'd thought she knew better than to mingle with humans. Even the Dalish had enough sense to warn their people away from humans.

"Templars? What are you talking about, Dorian?" Ellana asked, absent was her usual playful tone. She sounded serious and rather offended. Solas let out a sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Maybe she hadn't lost her mind after all.

"I saw you and Cullen having a lovely hushed conversation in the gardens, for the third afternoon in a row."

Now, that was news to Solas and by the crashing of an inkwell from the third floor, it was news to the Spymaster as well and she had eyes and ears all over Skyhold. Ellana was a discrete woman, but apparently, no one could hide gossip from Dorian.

"Wait, you think there's something going on between me and Cullen? You're absolutely daft, Dorian."

Solas gazed upwards to see Leliana peaking over the railing on the third floor. She was obviously just as interested as he was, but for completely different reasons of course. She would need to know if her Commander and Inquisitor were in any kind of relationship, as well as tease the ex-Templar mercilessly for his love interest. Regardless of how this conversation ended, Solas had a feeling that the Commander was never going to quite hear the end of this from the Spymaster. She would at least lecture him on being more discrete in the future when meeting with Ellana alone.

"So, you aren't sleeping with the Commander?" Dorian honestly sounded a little put out.

Figures.

"As much as you'd love for me to tell you what he looks like without all that ridiculous armor, I have nothing to tell. So, no, I haven't been trying to seduce him in the gardens. I've actually been giving him courting advice. Though, admittedly human courting is a lot different from Dalish courting, but the end results tend to be the same. He has his eye on a lovely Inquisition member, who he doesn't quite know how to talk to without sounding like a complete fool, so I've been giving him pointers."

Dorian began to laugh loud enough to disturb the crows on the third floor. "He must be desperate if he's asking you for advice," he told her between gasps and squawking birds.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ellana snapped, nearly shouting at the Altus. Solas could picture her hands on her hips, the pure picture of righteous indignation.

"Ellana, dear, you just don't seem like the person who has the most experience with…romance. For Andraste's sake, you didn't even realize when Bull was flirting with you when you first met him."

Solas heard a snort from above and Leliana was covering her mouth with her left hand. Dorian wasn't wrong. Ellana could be rather dense about that sort of thing. The idea of anyone starting something romantic with her seemed to just sail right over her head.

"So presumptuous, Altus Pavus, I'll have you know that I'm…." her sentence trailed off and Solas tilted his head hoping to hear more, but it seemed that the two had moved further into Dorian's little alcove and were actively trying to be quiet.

That's a first.

It made Solas wonder what they were talking about. They were always rather open about their gossip.

Whatever she was sharing had to be personal, and therefore Solas felt that he needed to know. Despite knowing Ellana for months, he really didn't know too many personal details about her life. She didn't speak of past lovers (if she'd had any), her clans location (besides vague descriptions), how she was trained or even specifics about her family. She was shrouded in mystery, less so than Solas himself, but still enough to make him curious.

Though, he doubted that he was going to find out what they were talking about anytime soon. Dorian wasn't going to share the details of what he and Ellana discussed. Despite Dorian's many faults, loyalty was not one of them and the Altus would take Ellana's secrets to his grave. Solas sighed and returned back to his work, waiting for the next round of gossip to rise from library balcony.

The rotunda was quiet for a while, it was about an hour later that Ellana came down the stairs and into the main part of the rotunda.

Her steps were light and her breathing even, so she hadn't ended up in tears over whatever she had shared. That was always a good sign that he'd be able to get some kind of information out of her.

"Did you enjoy your weekly gossip?" Solas asked, never taking his eyes off his work, but he could multitask well enough.

A small chuckle came from behind. "Weekly? Here I thought this was nearly a daily thing. I hope Leliana enjoyed it. We need to team up on Cullen with Josie in the war room. Asking me how to romance a mage, silly man. Just because my brother is a mage, does not mean I know how all mages wish to be romanced."

Solas frowned, not that Ellana could see, but it was reflected in his voice. "The Commander is interested in formally courting a mage?"

If anyone was ill suited to romance a mage it was the Commander. The man was terrified of magic. He tried to hide it, but Solas saw the distrust and genuine fear whenever he casted near the human.

"Don't sound so shocked, Solas, stranger things have been known to happen, like Darkspawn Magisters rising from the dead with an ancient Elven artifact to destroy the world," she replied and took a breath, Solas could picture her waving her hands around in exasperation at his lack of "forward thinking" as she put it, "Cullen is a good man and needs all the help he can get when it comes to the opposite gender. You'd think he'd never seen a woman naked before with the way he blushes and stutters at everything that doesn't have to do with war."

The Commander of the Inquisition was a lot of things, but Solas never pictured the Commander as someone who shied away from romance. Interesting.

"So the Commander went to you for advice?"

"Now you just sound like Dorian. Cullen and I play chess every now and again and we're not allowed to talk about the Inquisition, so we talk about our families and other personal matters. He confided in me, nothing to get worked up about," she responded, waving a hand dismissively.

Solas barely resisted the urge to laugh as he stood up, his back cracking as he straightened. He had been hunched over for far too long, his work on his frescos done for the day.

She whistled and clapped for him when turned to face her. His latest fresco dedicated to her fighting Corypheus at Haven. "Why haven't you spoken of your passion for painting before? Surely it should have come up in our travels?"

"The same way your sewing did?"

"Touché. But, I did sew your tunic back together multiple times. One would think you'd never had to fix your clothing before with how clumsy you were with a needle and tread."

Oh, how close she was to the truth. He had his own personal tailors thousands of years ago that made his clothing. What Myna had been able to do with the fade and a needle and thread was magic all on its own.

A short pang of longing went through him thinking of his old friend. She was a long dead confident, one that Ellana had nearly replaced with her easy smile and quiet nature.

He'd never mended his own clothing and he never even imagined fixing fabric as something he'd need to learn to do. It had been a little more than embarrassing to have Ellana point out that his tunic had ripped after a battle and he had no spare thread to fix it or that he had not idea on how to do it himself. It was a skill that Solas had never bothered to learn. He never had the need or want to. Thinking back on it, that had been an odd skill not to pick up in his extremely long life.

"It is why I am lucky to have you around. Without your talent, where would the Inquisition be?"

"Without a leader and you, lethallan, wouldn't have a shirt, or trousers at this point, if we're being honest. You are very lucky I know how to tailor clothing made for elves or your pants would be a mess. _Shems_ tend to have issues around the way our claves and thighs are structured, we're lithe, muscled and rather thin, all at once. It is hard for them to figure that all out, not to mention the holes in feet for you daft mages, running around with no shoes."

Solas looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes, his mouth down turning. He found nothing wrong showing his feet. He turned back to see that she had a broad grin on her face.

"Yes, well magic tends to protect your feet from things like cold and heat. No matter how daft the mage. Human mages could probably do the same thing if they wanted to," he told her honestly. He doubted that human mages would ever willingly walk barefoot, but it made Solas feel more connected to the earth and magic around him.

"Doesn't their Maker forbid going barefoot or was Sera just pulling my leg? I can never get all their religious rules straight?" Did she read any of the holy texts that her Spymaster and Ambassador had given her the past few months?

He raised his eyebrow at the comment, but she looked sincere enough. He supposed she hadn't read anything they'd given her, more than likely out of spite than anything else. "I don't think it's a religious rule, but a social one."

"Knew it. Anyway, I never did thank you for saving my box from burning in Haven, did I?"

Solas felt his cheeks heat up. He hadn't wanted her to know that it was him that had saved her precious box. Solas had left it in her room anonymously between healing sessions after the Inquisition's original trek to Skyhold.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, _da'len,"_ he replied with a wry smile. He was getting too attached to her. Ellana was something between a trusted friend and a daughter to Solas. Despite what the dwarf claimed, the two of them had nothing but mutual respect for one another and Ellana was _far_ too young for him physically and emotionally.

She rolled her eyes fondly, that teasing smile was back again. "Of course you don't, _hahren._ You're beginning to forget things in your old age."

Love was not something someone like him deserved. He'd already destroyed everything he loved once, he wasn't willing to get attached again, no matter how tempting.

 **It's always a little difficult to really show case Ellana and Dorian's lovely friendship while telling the story in Solas'** **perspective. He's such a pessimist. Also, I think it should be considered cannon that Dorian and any Inquisitor literally just gossip loudly in the library for Solas and Leliana to hear and more than likely amuse any and all Inquisition members in the area.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The next two, I think, are going to be starting Hawke's POV. It's going to be something different for everyone. So we all get to see Solas' pouty expressions from a new perspective. =D**

 **Thank you to all the lovely readers that have reviewed, favorite and followed. It really keeps my spirits up. I dropped a small hint this week in the chapter for my big plot twist. Though, a lovely reviewer last week was real close in one of their guesses. =3 They're not quite there yet though, so keep thinking and guessing. I love reading them.**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! Updating a few hours later than normal, but it's still Friday, but like thirty minutes! Enjoy the chapter!**

The Inquisitor had some rather interesting traveling companions that much Marian Hawke understood from briefly speaking to some of them at the Tavern. The Iron Bull and Sera had easily become her favorite drinking companions and general chaos starters. The three of them had more than once had drinking contests that led late into the night, causing many a half dressed table dance and drunken singing. It was just like Kirkwall, expect the company she kept wasn't completely criminal, the drinks were of better quality and everything was different. At least Varric stayed the same, but he didn't live in the Tavern, the blasted dwarf had to live in all the way up those fancy castle stairs. And, Marian hated stumbling up those stairs drunk.

Even though The Herald's Rest had become Marian's favorite place to spend her down time at Skyhold, there were still times when it made her uneasy. More often than not soldiers would give her hard stares or grab a weapon. All thoughts of a fight were quickly diffused by the hulking Qunari watching every interaction with one very functional eye, but Marian never quite felt safe.

Then there was Anders, who was being kept under lock and key between her, Bethany, Cullen and the Inquisitor. Vengeance was doing its best to attempt a full possession, but just couldn't seem to pull it off. Maybe the demon felt uneasy staying in this place for too long. Did it have some sixth sense feeling that it was going to be exorcized or maybe all the Templars were worrying it? Either way, Anders was continuous moody, which only made Marian want to drink more, though she always had wild tales to share with her lover afterwards.

When she wasn't dealing with Anders, who was starting to go a little stir crazy from all of her hovering, she was spending time at the Tavern learning all she could about the mysterious Inquisitor. Despite being at Skyhold for a few weeks, she hadn't really gotten to talk the fearless leader past their initial meeting. So, she asked around a bit. Marian was going to be traveling with her for a few months and wanted to make sure that she wasn't some insane serial killer.

All she had been able to find out about the woman was that she Dalish, one hundred and fifty percent sure she was never going to convert despite the Mothers' insistence, she hated nobles, the kids thought she was funny, the soldiers thought she was a monster on the battlefield and when training, was kind hearted, saved the lives of all the people there, and stuck up for mage rights.

By all rights the woman should be a saint. She could honestly be the next coming of Andraste with how these people spoke about her. So, Marian went about asking her friends about her.

Sera claimed she stuck up for the little people, but was too elfy…Marian wasn't sure what that meant and kept going. Bull claimed she was a warrior that covered herself in the blood of her enemies, but she took no joy in dragon hunting, which was apparently a mood killer for him. Varric said the woman was novel worthy, but he wants to see if her story ends in tragedy. Marian steered clear of Cassandra, she tended to stutter and blush around the eldest Hawke and it made her uncomfortable. She also refused to talk to Vivienne, they tended to argue more than speak. Blackwall only had positive things to say about the Inquisitor. He seemed to idolize her much the same way the other occupants and soldiers tended to. Then there were the two mages. Solas had a stick up his ass so Marian didn't really bother with him. He didn't seem like the gossiping type, but he spoke to the Inquisitor quite often and normally in elven. Dorian thought that it was novel that Marian was asking about the Inquisitor and told him that her worst quality was her outdated sense of fashion and the fact that she seemed enjoy taking him out on adventures in the most grotesque of places.

All in all, there was nothing really to report about the woman. She was nice, end of story, but something just seemed off to Marian and it had to do with their introduction. The Inquisitor knew Marian was bringing Anders and threatened her without batting an eyelash. When the Inquisitor spoke to her there was no compassion in her voice, she was strict and unbending. It wasn't what Marian had heard from everyone else.

Anders was still being watched around the clock, whether they could see the spy or not, they knew Leliana wasn't going to leave Anders, a possessed mage, to be left only under Marian's supervision. Though, Marian hopes they enjoy watching the copious amount of sex she and Anders tend to partake in to pass the time.

But, even Marian needed a break from Anders and Vengeance's never ending battle with each other, so she would go and drown her sorrows for a bit. The Iron Bull was fun especially when it came to drinking together. Hawke enjoyed the copious stories he had about his mercenary team. It seemed that they got into some rather interesting situations when they were on their own. They were even hiding a mage, or Marian was nearly positive Dalish was a mage. She claimed that she was using a bow, but Marian was ninety nine percent sure that was a staff.

Krem was a gift to humanity, only for his constant calm presence in the face of his Qunari commander. It was actually Krem that got Marian to see the softer side of the Inquisitor first hand.

It was early in the afternoon when Marian had found both Krem and the Inquisitor sewing stuffed nugs and halla for the children of Skyhold inside the tavern. It was cute and a little disconcerting that the leader of the Inquisition was sewing in a dimly lit tavern corner with a Tevinter mercenary. Apparently, the Inquisitor was still recovering from her escape from Haven and was only allowed up and about for part of the day, so here she was spending time sewing and talking with Bull's mercenary team.

Things got interesting when Bull wanted to attach wings to them, which Krem approved of, and then continued his idea by suggesting that they catapult them off the far end of Skyhold to see how far they flew, which Krem gave him a firm no. Ellana had given her mercenary commander a disapproving glare, which Bull had the decency to look a little ashamed of his suggestion before she went back to her work on her halla. It looked quite realistic and Marian knew that she would make a child extremely happy when she was finished.

Sera was another fun one, she couldn't sew, but enjoyed chatting away while Krem and the Inquisitor worked. The young archer approved of making little stuffed nugs for the kids, since it was for the little-little people who had lost nearly everything at Haven and the kids tended to help Sera in quite a few pranks around Skyhold, so their happiness was key.

Sera was so young to fighting and it broke Marian's heart a little bit to see how much she hated herself and her heritage, but at the same time, Sera was a main player in a small rebel band that stretched across Thedas. The girl wasn't as innocent as she seemed no matter how damaged she was. Honestly, Marian wanted to help her Friends of Red Jenny. They could be doing a lot of good in Kirkwall and she wondered if Varric had thought of that yet, since he is the future Viscount. Sera honestly reminded Marian a little bit of Isabella, if only for her crude humor and obsession with breasts, but it brought a smile to her face nonetheless.

Then there was Cole, a squirrely spirit of compassion. She had almost forgotten about him, again. He was sitting on a few barrels next to the Inquisitor talking about how wiggly nugs are and how the stuffed animal was feeling as it was being stitched up, which went from cute to disturbing rather quickly. He seemed nice enough, but Marian had known Vengeance when it was still Justice. She just hoped that the Inquisitor knew what she was getting into with spirits.

Though, Cole was the most human non-possessed spirit she had ever seen. He had made his own body, basing it off of a human he had met, but nonetheless, created a physical body outside of the fade. Here this spirit was watching the stuffed animals be created with rapt attention. He then delivered the toys for the Inquisitor and Krem so they didn't need to stop working. The Inquisitor was trying to teach him that being seen and being remembered wasn't something to fear. The Kid, as Varric called him, seemed to enjoy the joy the toys brought out of the children and did as the Inquisitor asked without complaint.

"Would you like one too, Champion? You've been watching her all afternoon?"

Marian jumped in her chair, pivoting on her chair to see Solas leaning against her table. She frowned, when the hell had he gotten here?

"No, halla and nugs aren't really my style, now a dragon on the other hand…"

Bull raised a mug of ale in silent agreement.

"Would you like me to put in a request for you?"

Marian snorted, pushing a stray piece of hair out her face before going back to tracing a finger along her table. "Hardly. Why are you here, Solas? I've been here two weeks and I've yet to see you in the tavern. Why the change of heart?"

The elf gave her an unimpressed glance before motioning to the woman sewing the halla. Of course, she was the reason he was here. "The Inquisitor missed her healer's appointment and I was tasked with finding her."

Ah, so he's here to play healer.

Marian waved a hand dismissively. "If I dropped dead every time I'd missed a healer's appointment I'd have died a hundred times over and I was run through by a Qunari's blade."

She heard a tankard of ale clatter behind her and gave Bull a sultry look over her shoulder that had the Qunari somewhat hot and bothered.

"Yes, well, Ellana was nearly crushed by a mountain. Her ribs were badly damaged." He replied surly, pulling her away from her game of teasing. He was never any fun. Solas never liked to play along, his loss.

The elf turned away from her and walked over to the Inquisitor, who was so busy sewing that she hadn't even noticed him standing in front of her. Solas tapped her shoulder and she narrowed her eyes at the interruption. Solas put a hand on his hip, no doubt a disappointed frown on his face. The Inquisitor looked crestfallen for a moment. Maybe she wasn't as bad of a patient as Marian thought…

"Would you believe me if I told you I lost track of time?"

Then again, maybe not.

"Considering that this is the third one you missed, no."

Oh, how daring this apostate elf was to talk to his leader like that. Marian hadn't seen anyone question the Inquisitor in such a manner before. Then again, Marian isn't privy to any of the conversations that she has in the war room that don't pertain to her, so, she might be missing out.

"Are they still waiting for me?"

"Yes, now come before I have to drag you there."

He was very daring and Marian noticed a few people watching their interaction with more than polite curiosity.

The Inquisitor rolled her eyes, putting down her needle and thread and gave Krem a long-suffering look before standing up from her chair. Krem gave her a small salute, but never stopped working.

Solas held out an arm for the Inquisitor, which she took with exaggerated exhaustion. She even added in a slight swoon, much to the amusement of her friends. Then Solas whispered something into her ear, which caused her burst out laughing.

Marian wasn't sure what Solas had told her until a few days before they left for Crestwood. She was greeted to the sight of a green stuffed dragon sitting in front of her bedroom with a neatly written note from the Inquisitor saying:

 _If you wanted one, all you needed to do was ask._

 _~Ellana_

Maybe Solas had some humor to him after all.

 **This chapter had a little bit more interception from Hawke than most others will, but I thought getting her opinion on the Inquisitor and her inner circle members was fun to write. This chapter was like nine hundred words shorter yesterday. It got beefed up last night when I realized I couldn't give you guys such a tiny chapter. Though, I like where I went with it. Stuffed nugs are super cute and a real thing!**

 **Crestwood is fast approaching so more action is on the way and then plot twists! Ah, I'm so happy!**

 **Thanks for all those that are reading, following, reviewing and favoriting! It's means a lot and keeps the chapters flowing!**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	14. Chapter 14

**So, here is the next chapter! =D Sorry that it's out a little late. My brother came home from college today and I helped him put together a futon. Enjoy!**

Crestwood was a mess and Marian was not in the mood to clean it up. She had one mission in mind and that was to find Stroud. Though, Crestwood reminded her a lot of Kirkwall. There were undead everywhere, it was constantly raining, the people were questionable, the mountains were volatile, just like Kirkwall, before it blew up.

The real difference was the team she was traveling with for the first and last leg of her journey. Varric was staying at Skyhold and Solas and Sera were bickering the entire trip there. While it was funny at first, they ended up grating on her nerves more often than not.

Luckily, the Inquisitor was willing to run around and fix the people's problems while Marian went looking for Stroud. It didn't take too long of course. The hardest part was waiting for Ellana to show up because that woman loved taking detours to help and explore. Marian swore she saw the elf more than once on the horizon, but that could just be her own wishful thinking.

So, this left Marian to her thoughts, a dangerous place for her to be. Thinking about the future always made her nervous, especially with Anders being as volatile as he currently was. There was also the promise of help from the Inquisition while she was away. That was part of the reason that Varric was at Skyhold, he was making sure that Cassandra didn't execute Anders, _if_ she found him.

Marian knew that Cullen was running interference for them. Just like old times. It seemed the Inquisition's Commander had a weakness for Bethany asking him favors. "He's been attempting to court Bethany for months. The man is hopeless," the Inquisitor had confided in her one evening after a grueling day of traveling through a constant drizzle. They group had set up tents and Marian and the Inquisitor had decided to take the first watch around the quickly dying fire.

"And how do you know this?" Marian inquired, hands in front of her in a very business like manner.

The elf gave a very undignified snort that really didn't fit the woman's profile, "We're friends and he trusts me. We play chess often enough and eventually he came to me for some kind of advice on courting of all things."

Marian's eyes widened. Does the Commander think before he speaks to women? Ever? "He does realize that you're Dalish, right?"

She grins in response. "I mean, when I told him to go and hunt some great-bear and present a pelt to her, he did that blushing stutter thing. I laughed at him and then gave him some actual advice."

"He still does that? Maker, that man needs to get laid."

"He's trying," the Inquisitor replied with a wink, her grey eyes twinkling. Marian resisted shuddering. That was her sister she was talking about.

"So, what did you tell him, in the end?"

"I told him to go and talk to her, outside of training and official business," she said with a shrug, poking a stick into the crackling fire.

"Did it work?" Marian asked, hoping to hear a little bit more about her sister. Even though Bethany had agreed to help Marian, she knew that her sister hadn't really forgiven her for what happened in Kirkwall. They hadn't kept in close contact after the explosion and the fact that she let Anders off had caused an even larger rift grow between them. The only reason Marian knew her sister was in the mage alliance was because Varric saw Bethany and contacted her.

"They walk the ramparts together quite often. They both flirt rather shyly with one another, but they keep their relationship private for the most part. The soldiers think it's adorable, as does the entire inner circle."

"Even that stuck up elven apostate of yours?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He's hardly mine. Solas belongs to no one, a lone wolf that one, but I think he finds their relationship hilariously ironic."

Marian grinned at the Inquisitor mischievously, "So, are you and the apostate seeing each other?"

"No."

Marian raised an eyebrow at the response. It was clean answer, no hesitation. It seemed like she was telling the truth.

"You're really close. I could have sworn…"

She let out a sigh and pulled out a necklace from her coat. It seemed to be a pendent of some kind, with intricate designs carved around it. "This is an engagement present from a warrior of my clan. I'm not eligible for any kind of relationship outside of friendship. If Solas wants to date a Lavellan, he can date my mother, seems like she's waited centuries to get some action outside of being the keeper," she responded with a dramatic sigh.

"So, who is this fiancé?" Marian asks wit wiggle to brows causing the Inquisitor to chuckle.

"That's for me to know and no body else to find out. Unless he feels like making the trek to Skyhold and revealing himself to the _shemlen_ masses. He is free to remain anonymous."

The conversation ended there, creating more questions than answers in Marian's mind about the Inquisitor, but there was nothing to do to change that. It was going to take more than a few passing words to understand a woman that was effectively running Thedas.

But, that happened about five days ago and the group had split since. Marian was to carry out her mission, while the Inquisition dealt with the undead. The main problem was Marian was having was bypassing all the other Grey Wardens in the area. It seemed that the Inquisition wasn't the only organized group in Thedas looking for Stroud. Marian had always wondered about the morality of the Grey Wardens. She had admired them at first, like many in Thedas. They were there to stop the blight after all, but after everything that happened in Kirkwall and finding out about her father's involvement with them, she realized that they were a little bit more than morally corrupt. Though, she never expected them to turn on their own in this manner. Which made Marian question Warden Blackwall's loyalty to the Inquisition. Wardens were always Wardens first. They weren't supposed to get involved with politics, which made Blackwall's presence questionable at best.

Marian just hoped that she was wrong about Blackwall and that he wasn't hiding something from the Inquisition, because from what Marian had seen of the Inquisitor she was not a woman who took betrayal lightly. While she did not wear her authority overtly, Ellana commanded attention when she entered a room, her head was always held high and her eyes calculating. Even with her Dalish markings, braids and different piercings she looked the part of a dignified ruler.

By the way the sky cleared a day and a half ago, it seemed that the Inquisitor might have come up with another miracle and Marian stayed outside the cave entrance waiting for the Dalish elf and her team to meet her.

It took nearly another day for them to reach her. It was almost nightfall and the group looked tired and irritable, but the Inquisitor seemed eager and ready to speak to Marian's contact. The Inquisitor motioned for the group to stand down. "Take a rest while I talk to contact. Sera you're lookout."

The archer nodded, climbed a rock near the entrance and sat on it. Marian just gave the group one more curtsy glance. Blackwall looked exhausted, his shield was going to need to be repaired, there were huge dents, burn marks and scratches littering the metal. Solas just seemed annoyed, but Marian always thought the elf looked like he had a stick up his ass, but he was always watching the Inquisitor. Marian was sure something was going on between the two, but the Inquisitor had put those thoughts to rest on her end. It could be unrequited love, the worst kind. The Inquisitor seemed alright for the most part. Her weapons were in tact and she didn't seemed injured. That was until Marian caught the sight of a rather large hole in her chainmail. It looked like a rage demon may got a hold of her. There was no sign of injury, no doubt healed by Solas, but she was going to need to repair that with so many Red Templars in the area. Though, all their armor was rather damp, considering the sunny weather.

"You all seem…waterlogged."

"Yea, you'd be to if you spent your week ass deep in a friggin demon hell-pit," Sera snapped, as she fidgeted with some of her arrows.

Marian turned to the Inquisitor who shrugged. "She isn't lying. We ended up in a part of the deeproads where I had to close a rift at the bottom of a lake, which was infested with demons."

"Demon. Hell-pit. Never again."

The mention of the deeproads caused a shiver to go up Marian's spine. Never again. She was glad that Varric wasn't with them, he hated the deeproads more than Marian did. "I'll take your word for it."

"Come on, Hawke, let's talk to your contact. I need to get me people back to Skyhold."

The Inquisitor had made it very clear that Marian was welcome to travel back to Skyhold with her group from Crestwood. Solas made for great conversation on magical theory and even though he was a bit distant, he was very intelligent. Warden Blackwall was interesting to Marian. She really enjoyed his sense of humor was he wasn't talking about war. Sera's nonsensical way of speaking grew on Marian the longer she spent with the young elf. The only issue Marian had with Sera was her obvious distain for elves, which she could tell bothered Ellana, even if she tried not to show it.

But, sometimes, Solas and Ellana made it rather difficult to follow their conversations. Half of it would be in common and the other half would be in long strings of elven that in all the time that Hawke had been around Merril, she hadn't heard her speak that fluently in a nearly dead language. It did made the two elves happy though and when asked Ellana would explain what they were talking about.

Most of the time, the two didn't even notice that they were speaking in another language and it never lasted too long. Ellana was usually the first to notice the rest of the group's confused looks.

And, as much as Marian loved spending copious amounts of time with the Inquisitor and her friends she was more than a little relieved when she saw the gates of Skyhold. She desperately wanted to see Anders, to make sure that he was still all there. Ellana had promised he'd be alright under the watchful eyes of Dorian, Bethany, Cole and Cullen, but she still worried.

Even though she promised that she sent for to attempt to remove Vengeance from Anders, it seemed too good to be true. All her remaining time with what was left of him was precious to her and she hated leaving him alone.

"I can wait for a bath."

"You Dalish efly-elves believe in baths?" Sera quipped and the Inquisitor only grinned, grey eyes alight with mischief. Reminding Marian how young she was.

"Well, the Dalish communally bathe quiet often, it's something I miss. Baths alone aren't nearly as amusing."

Sera cackled. "You enjoy seeing everyone's bits out and about?"

The devious smirk on her face only made Sera more interested in her answer and Marian wondered if the clan was a little relieved to have the Inquisitor off creating havoc somewhere else for a little while.

"Great time for pranking."

Another crackle. "Elfy bits."

Upon arrival it seemed that they had people waiting for them at the gate. The Inquisitor rushed forward to intercept her Ambassador, who seemed more than a little flustered. She waved them all off as she tried to figure out what was going on when the Inquisitor sprinted past all of them and ran straight for the keep.

More than a little alarmed the group followed into the dining hall to see the wildest looking Dalish elf Marian had ever laid eyes on. He was standing next to Varric, his thick blonde hair tied together in multiple braids and pulled up in a horse tail on his head, he had burn marks up and down his arms and a feral grin that should send people running in the opposite direction. He was dressed in elven robes, but they were of better quality than Marian was used to seeing on the Dalish.

There was something familiar about him and it wasn't until he turned to face them, familiar grey eyes and _vallaslin_ to Mythal high on his cheeks staring back at them did she realize that this elf was the Inquisitor's brother. The brother she spoke so fondly about throughout her trip to Crestwood.

Speaking of the Inquisitor, she rushed forward and tackled her brother in a rather aggressive hug, nearly knocking him off of his feet. They chatted briefly in elven with wide dramatic head gestures and broad smiles. Marian recognized part of it as a greeting. She'd heard Merrill say this to her clansmen, before everything went horribly wrong, of course. Marian wished that she had asked Merrill for a few lessons on Elvish. Between dealing with the Inquisitor, Solas and now her brother, there was no doubt going to be quite a few secret conversations in that group. Marian wondered if her Chantry loving inner circle members were worried about the same thing. It wasn't often that there was a group of elves that were as fluent and unafraid as these three seemed to be about speaking their ancient tongue in front of outsiders.

Marian turned to Solas, to see what his reaction was to the newest Dalish elf and she was surprised when he looked as if he had seen a ghost of some kind in the Inquisitor's brother. Then again, the bald mage had mentioned his disdain for Dalish elves and this elf looked as Dalish as one could get.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't arriving for another few weeks?"

Ah, they switched back to common.

"I lied. I wanted to surprise you, but you weren't here. We've only been here for an hour or so anyway. What's the point of you leading an organization if they have you doing all their work?" Much like the Inquisitor, her brother had an odd accent. Not one that was easy to place. Though he brought up a good point. Marian had honestly been wondering the same thing for about two weeks now herself. Why did the Inquisitor do so much dirty work for the Inquisition?

Wait, did her brother say mention more than one person had arrived with him?

The Inquisitor smacked him hard enough to make him flinch. "Not all of us are lazy First's like you, Ven."

He looked almost hurt at her accusation. "Me? Lazy? Never! I climbed a mountain for you, sister. Would a lazy brother do that, hm?"

"Please, you're just here to show off your magic with spirits. Otherwise you'd still be home."

He threw an arm around her shoulders. "You know me so well. Now, introduce me to your friends. I've met Varric, here, but it seems there is more to your inner circle than just him."

The Inquisitor sighed fondly a genuine smile on her face. Marian wondered how long it had been since she had last seen her family. Probably well over half a year. "Alright, I'll introduce you to those that are here right now. After that, I need a bath and a goodnights sleep before Josie gets me up at some ungodly hour to teach me how to dance for the Winter Palace."

 **We finally get to see Ellana's brother! He's going to be an interesting character throughout the rest of the series. The next chapter is going to be back with Solas for a bit as well as introduce some plot twists I've been setting up for! Ah, I'm so excited!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the nice long chapter, it's about 3000 words, 1000 longer than I usually write.**

 **Also, next week might be a little late. I just got a new laptop this morning, so I'm moving files over and getting used to using a windows computer after using a Macbook for 5 years. (I'm going to miss that laptop, but it's too old to get updates so it's no longer a very secure computer...it also crashes quite often and doesn't like microsoft word or fanfiction or really any website...) Maybe it was time to get something** **else, but the keyboard on macs are just so good. Ugh, the writer in me hates giving up this keyboard. I'm also babysitting my cousin for like 4 days, so she's is going to keep me busy.**

 **Oh well, enough about that...**

 **Thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed. You guys are the best!**

 **Also, happy early Halloween! Get into all kinds of questionably legal mischief!**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! I got a new computer and things are working again! I guess using a five year old computer would catch up with me eventually. Enjoy the chapter!**

Solas was still trying to piece together the image of Ven Lavellan that Ellana had shared with the Inner Circle and the actual elf in front of him. He had thought that Ven was an above average mage, but he hadn't expected the powerful magic that Solas felt coming off the elf in waves. This was the kind of power that Solas had thought that the world had lost with the construction of the veil. How someone like Ven was able to exist baffled Solas to no end, and the fact that his sister had no magical talent at all just confused him even more.

When Ellana had mentioned that he was a powerful mage Solas never imaged Ven's level of magic. It just created more questions about the twins.

Where did they come from and just who were their parents?

The blasted First had winked at him on his way out of the room with his sister. He swept Ellana in a one-armed hug and had her lead him up the stairs, demanding that he meet Dorian. No doubt that everyone in Skyhold was going to hear the interactions between the Lavellan twins and the Tevinter mage.

Solas retreated to the rotunda to paint. It would distract him and help him think more clearly. And, if he happened to hear some of the twins' conversations with Dorian that was just an added bonus.

Though, by the time he sat down to paint, there was no noise coming from the library besides the squawking of crows. That meant that the twins more than likely took Dorian to the tavern or the Altus wasn't in the library to begin with and Ellana dragged her brother off to the tavern to meet the mage.

So, this left Solas to his thoughts, a dangerous pass time.

At first Solas had thought that maybe they were just the decedents of Ancient elves, but now, he was wondering if they were direct decedents from the Evanuris. The mere thought made his shudder. Ven could be a danger to himself and others if his power wasn't trained properly, which could only be done by another of his power level, which left only Solas as a teacher. If that was the case, which members of the pantheon they were related to would be important to figure out, since each line had specific gifts attached to their lines. He'd just need to keep an eye on Ven. Though, Solas wasn't even sure where he was staying at this point. There were rooms all over Skyhold that he could be in and if Cassandra had her way he would be as far away from Solas a possible.

If the twins were from an ancient lineage, this changes even more of his future plans for Thedas. The two together could cause real issues for his eventual deconstruction of the veil. This could also mean that there were others like them out there, more elves like him, but born during a time of mortality. That could also mean that there are other pockets of Ancient elves living in Thedas, having children and attempting to survive without knowing that the Dread Wolf had returned to them.

He really needed to find a spy that could infiltrate clan Lavellan properly. All of them had been sent away so far. They had never even made it up the mountain. All of them had been made before the summit. Solas kept asking them how it was possible, but they would only shrug and apologize.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He could almost feel a headache coming on just thinking about how much he had to do besides helping the Inquisition.

Solas jumped when he heard the door to the rotunda room slam open. He winced and turned around to see Ven leaning in the archway, completely at ease. His robes fit tightly around him, and slightly armored, coming across more like assassin's garb than that of a mage. It reminded Solas of a more ancient style of dress. Ven's staff was nowhere in sight, leaving Solas to wonder if he was just that confident in his skills or if his sister had told him to leave it in his room.

Ven within two long strides was standing in front of Solas. "So, this is the rotunda… Ellana was right, you do have a talent for painting frescos," he said in Elven with a calm smile, "I'm Ven. I never got to properly introduce myself."

He held out a hand to Solas, who took it cautiously, pushing a bit of his magic out in the same manner Ven had earlier to see if he would react at all.

He didn't.

He wasn't sure what this mage was playing at. Ven had to sense some kind of power coming from Solas, he was too powerful not to. "I'm Solas, the resident fade expert for the Inquisition, but Ellana has more than likely already told you that."

Ven grinned. "So my sister says. I also hear that you're a dreamer like me. Sorry for the quick meeting we had after Haven fell...I was rather desperate to have my baby sister saved. Funny thing is, after I thought about it, you don't quite feel like many of the dreamers that I've met in the fade."

Solas tensed. How many dreamers had this young man met? Solas had been of the opinion that there weren't that many dreamers left in Thedas. The veil made sure of that. "Well, then maybe you just haven't met the right ones," Solas replied tersely. It seemed that the child was attempting to get information out of him?

"Yes, I suppose the ones born in this millennia tend to not be as well versed in the craft. Ellana told me about the way that you recreated Haven for her. She almost didn't realize you had invaded her dreams until right before she woke up. It's an impressive feat for someone as used to it as her," Ven commented airily, a rather mischievous grin on his face.

Solas felt his insides turn cold. He knew? He took a single calming breath, Ven knew he was an ancient, but did he know his true identity?

If he did, as much as he would hate to do it, Ven would need to die and it would have to be soon. It would, of course, be as painless as possible, but someone as powerful as Ven could not be allowed to spread Solas' identity out to the world.

"Am I the first ancient elf you've encountered?"

Ven snorted, sounding a lot like his sister in that moment. The markings of Mythal, a blood red on his tan cheeks, stood out in the rotunda's dim lighting. "Hardly. Our clan is full of them. It would also be difficult to not run into my own mother."

Solas blinked, shocked. They were that closely related to the ancients? They were the first generation to be born with the veil in place. He had thought they were maybe two or three generation in by now, but maybe their clan and formed late? It was hard to tell since he was missing so much information about their clan.

And that was why they looked so much like those before the fall. "Is there a reason that Ellana isn't telling me this? Did she know about my lineage this entire time and not tell me?" Solas asked, his pride wounded that Ellana wouldn't come to him about this and instead send her brother.

"My sister is busy and far too kind. From what she told me, she figured you were one of the ancients, but since you never mentioned it when she hinted at it, so she never pushed," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I also wanted to meet the mage that saved her life. Ellana speaks highly of you. It isn't often she makes friends outside of the clan."

Solas bit back a rather scathing retort of Dalish lifestyle before replying, "I wasn't going to just let her die. Since I've saved her, she has repaid me by saving my life countless times in battle."

Ven grinned, "I'm aware. Ellana is nothing if honorable. She wouldn't leave a debt owed to you unpaid."

Solas gave a brief nod in response, "Is there any other reason that you sought me out?"

Ven gave in a familiar long-suffering look. It seemed to be a family trait, the only difference being that Ven added a little bit of an exaggerated flick of his wrist. When he turned his head back towards Solas his face was serious. "Ruin all my fun, but yes. I wanted to go over some finer points of this exorcism Ellana said I'd do. I figured an ancient fade expert like yourself might notice if something was wrong."

Solas nodded putting his paints down. It would seem it would be a long time before he'd be getting any rest.

Ven pulled out a few pieces of rolled parchment from a pocket in his robes and spread them out on the table. The young mage was careful of Solas' work, barely moving anything and waiting for Solas to join him.

He looked over the notes quickly. They were written in Elven, something that Solas hadn't quite been expecting. Then again, Ellana had mentioned more than once that Ven went to other clans to get magical expertise. It would also be safe and out of _shem_ hands if it was written in a language that they didn't understand.

Ven's theory was strong, and the basic principles of the exorcism seemed like they would work, but the only difficult part was that this wasn't just any spirit. This was a corrupted spirit of justice.

"There's a good chance that you won't have enough power to remove the spirit without either killing yourself or the host. Vengeance is a powerful spirit and it is attached to a powerful spirit healer. It is going to be incredibly difficult to even attempt this, nevertheless do it properly on the first try," Solas warned and Ven bit his lip.

"I was worried about that. I've seen Anders once or twice since getting here and the man is a mess. The spirit is wreaking havoc on his mind and body. I don't know how much longer the he is going to manage to hold on. If I need to add power to this ritual I'm going to need more research, which means I'm going to need more contacts. Do you know anyone that would be willing to talk magic with me?" Ven asked, grey eyes hopeful, but Solas shook his head.

"I can converse some spirits over this matter, but I don't have any physical contacts for you to speak to," Solas answered and Ven rubbed a temple.

"I suppose I could ask Ellana and Dorian to help. I know that Dorian has contacts in Tevinter and Ellana has contacts all over Thedas…maybe I could convince some Dalish Keepers to share some knowledge with me. I'll have to see which clans owe mine a favor," Ven muttered mostly to himself, but loud enough that Solas could hear every word clearly. At least Ven wasn't so full of himself that he was above seeking help.

"You're willing to ask a Tevinter Altus for help?"

"Hey, Ellana made a promise to this Hawke woman and I intend to help her keep it. Dorian seems like a nice enough human. I have no issues with him until he starts using blood magic on me," Ven replied with a shrug.

He grabbed his papers, folded them back up and slid them into his robes. "I'll let you get back to your painting. Have a good evening, Solas," Ven said before making his way out of the room and back up to the library.

The mage was going to cause more problems than he was going to solve, this Solas was completely sure of that.

 **So, do you guys like Ven? He's going to be very different from Ellana in the strangest of ways and a reoccurring character. Speaking of Strange Things...Stranger Things season two was amazing (I finished it today). I digress, next week's chapter is going to be super fun. There's finally going to be a bit or romance in this story. Go figure, it only took 16 chapter to get here. At least, I pretty sure that's the next chapter...that's what I get for writing a lot of it out of order.**

 **Anyway, romance is coming up, though it might not be happening in the way you've all been thinking it would. ;)**

 **Thank you for everyone that reviewed and commented this week. It really made my week!**

 **I'm also writing another fanfiction for NaNoWriMo, which is going to be put up sometime in early December as a Christmas gift to readers that have been begging me for a fic for nearly 2 years. I'm worried I'm not going to be able to manage 50,000 words in a month, I've only every managed 33,000 words. I've been doing pretty well so far, about 8,000+ words in three day, solid start. If I keep this pace up I might have about 90,000 words or more by the end of the month.**

 **Have a lovely weekend,**

 **Animerocker**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here is chapter 16! Ah, one of my long awaited plot twists is waiting for you at the end! =D Enjoy.**

Marian Hawke loved watching Ven Lavellan tear Lady Vivienne apart at breakfast the following morning after his arrival. It wasn't often that Marian found people she hated more than Night Commander Meredith, but the Iron Lady of Skyhold came really close, less than a hairs width kind of close. More than once she had caught Cullen watching their interactions, especially when Marian's hands went to a knife that she kept strapped to her upper thigh. She didn't pretend to be a rogue for years in Kirkwall and not learn a few tricks to back up her claims. Isabella had been more than happy to train her in basic knife play and no one expected a mage to pull a knife out and get stabby.

Marian had nothing on the Inquisitor in terms of skill with a blade, the woman was more like a one-woman army with her twin daggers, but Marian could easily stab Vivienne if she really wanted to. And, by Andraste's flaming knickers, she felt Vivienne could do with a minor stab wound. She wasn't going to be going on the Inquisitors next expedition outside of Skyhold. She could do with some kind of battle wound in the meantime.

But, the disapproving glances from Cullen and Bethany were enough to stop her from actually doing anything. That didn't mean that she didn't vividly imagine it.

Ven was another matter entirely. He had nothing to lose by talking with Vivienne in the crassest ways possible. Nothing that woman did would affect him in long run. He was a Dalish First, untouchable by the Chantry and by the looks of it, completely unimpressed with Vivienne's political jabs and magic. Ven was more level headed about Dalish matters than his sister, who for the most part avoided Vivienne like the Blight. Then again, the Inquisitor had been dealing with the woman for months. Marian vaguely wondered how long it took the Inquisitor to just give up speaking to Vivienne all together.

This made breakfast an interesting affair. Ven was dressed differently than the day before. Instead of wearing furs, he was dressed leathers that looked to be a cross between mage clothing and rogue light armor. The mage, like so many other elves Marian knew, didn't wear shoes, leaving his bare feet to brave the frosty elements of Skyhold. Though, they were cleaner and slightly less callused than what she remembered of Fenris'. For a Dalish First, he seemed fairly at ease in Skyhold. He was actively conversing with everyone around him while eating small bits of everything the castle had to offer.

His sister was nowhere to be seen, much to the horror of her Ambassador, but she hadn't told anyone to fetch her yet, maybe thinking better of it. It seemed that the Inquisitor was getting some much-deserved rest by not being disturbed by her advisors in the early hours of the morning like she had feared the night before. If anyone needed a break it was Ellana Lavellan. The woman was running all over Thedas for humans that, in any other circumstance, would want her dead.

To think, breakfast had been going so well. Dorian, Solas, Bethany and Marian were all discussing different magical theories on spirit removal when a chill went up Marian's spine. She turned to see Vivienne standing behind her and across from Ven, who had stopped eating and noticed the horned woman glaring daggers at all of them.

"Look so many future abominations sitting at one table. What interesting company our Inquisitor keeps."

Ven's head snapped towards Vivienne, his grey eyes hard. "What do you mean abominations?"

Marian's hands itched to grab her knife. Even this woman's voice grated on her nerves and she only said a single sentence.

"Well, my dear, you have no circle training, and even worse, you grew up in the wild, therefore you don't know the dangers you put yourself in by simply existing," she explained, faux concern lacing her every condescending word.

"I don't need to be locked in a tower to figure out how to use magic. My clan has produced hundreds of mages throughout its existence with a much higher success rate than your prisons," Ven shot back, letting some fire magic dance along his fingers.

Marian noticed a few Templars go towards their weapons in the back of the Main Hall, but they didn't rush forward to smite Ven. More than likely they were told not to assault the Inquisitor's brother. Vivienne looked like she swallowed a lemon when the Templars didn't seize him.

"Circles are not prisons. What would a savage like yourself know about Circles?" She spat, some of that lovely decorum she loves so much slipping away like water under Ven's careful wording.

"Is there a better way to describe a place that has guards surrounding it and the people that live inside are not allowed out for the protection of the public?" Ven asked, extinguishing the fire on his fingers and moving to examine his nails, which were rather pointed, showing no respect for the Enchanter across from him.

"The Circle protects the mages more than anything else. Freedom is an illusion. Mages must know how to control themselves and the circle is the only way to do that."

The mages around the table all knew the words coming out of Vivienne's mouth was what the Chantry wanted the Circles to represent, but freedom was no illusion, it was real and it was the reason that the mages fought against their captors in the first place. It was the same reason that apostates existed in the first place.

Though, it seemed that Ven was the only one out of the group that was willing to voice this opinion.

"That's a lie and you know it. You, because of your privilege, are allowed outside of the tower. You attend parties, have lovers and are allowed to have experiences outsides of Templar guarded walls. You have no right to judge me or anyone else raised outside of a Circle. We've all turned out just fine. Did you know that the person who blew up the Chantry had lived in a Circle for years before escaping? It wasn't some untrained apostate or Dalish First, but a human man who had suffered at the hands of your corrupt human system."

Vivienne's face was turning an odd shade of purple. Marian felt that it suited her.

"Nothing to say in reply, Vivienne? How unlike you," Solas said between bites of jam covered toast. Dorian nearly choked on his tea and Bethany was outright laughing. Who knew that Solas had a sense of humor?

"Yes, well, we all know what happened to that abomination. Left to his own devices to roam free with a demon inside of him," she sneered, making a point to stare at Marian. Yes, because it was her fault that Anders was possessed by Vengeance?

Where was Varric? She needed her dwarven friend to back her up.

"Vivienne, your Circles were failing and if it wasn't Kirkwall's Chantry that blew up, it was going to be another one," Bethany snapped, always protective of her older sister, even when they weren't on the best of terms.

Vivienne turned heel and made a strategic retreat back to her room, much to the everyone's amusement. The Templars seemed to calm down slightly, but it there was still quite a bit of tension in the room.

The conversation was beginning to hit a little bit too close to home for Marian. It seemed that the twins really did share everything with each other, including things that Marian had shared with the Inquisitor's group while they had traveled together.

Their conversation returned to spirits and corruption from them and Marian started feeling a bit uncomfortable. Anders was asleep in their shared rooms and really didn't want to think about Vengeance at the moment.

She stood from the table and decided to make her way to the Inquisitor's quarters. Marian knew that she was taking the morning off, but it was nearly ten and the Inquisitor had always seemed to be an early riser. Marian figured she was probably awake, but just laying about and taking it easy.

Smart woman.

Marian made her way up the stairs to discuss her plans for the spirit removal. Ven was in charge of the magic portion of the spell removal, but the Inquisitor was in charge of setting up where and when it was going to take place.

It wasn't until Marian reached the Inquisitor's bedroom door did she notice something was off. There was an extra pair of boots sitting near the door. They were neatly placed, and Marian wondered if the Inquisitor had left them there after they returned for Crestwood? They looked fairly new, not something that had survived hours of treading through snow and rain.

She had only ever been to the Inquisitor's quarters once, and there hadn't been shoes in front of it then… Marian wasn't one to stare at people's feet, but those shoes were a bit too big for her and they weren't caked with mud and sand that littered Crestwood.

Did the Inquisitor have a guest?

Was this the mysterious fiancé she been told about, but never got the name of?

Marian figured, if she was smart, she would turn around, but her curiosity itched to find out more, and she wouldn't be the Champion of Kirkwall if she didn't look into something she wasn't supposed to at least once a day.

It was law.

She thanked the Maker that the door didn't squeak when she opened or closed it. Small blessings were hard to come by at the end of the world after all.

So, Marian quietly entered the room, tiptoeing her way up the stairs until she got a clear picture of the Inquisitor's quarters and all its inhabitants.

The first thing that she noticed was that one of the balcony doors was slightly ajar and the fire had long since gone out. The room was slightly chilly and let the morning sun into the room through the Dalish inspired stained-glass. The next thing she saw were clothes scattered across the chamber, both male and female armor. One was definitely heavy armor, built for a warrior, while the other was the Inquisitor's bloodied and partly burned armor. The heavy armor was different than most she's seen, built for an elf so it wasn't quite as bulky. Figured she'd be engaged to an elf, ever the traditionalist, the Inquisitor.

Marian had to admire the Inquisitor's and her lover's passion. Their clothing was _everywhere_ in the room. There was, what appeared to be, a breast-band sitting on the top of a bookshelf in the far corner of the room and a gauntlet on one of the upper level banister balancing rather precariously.

Something about the armor seemed vaguely familiar, but she knew she had never seen this exact set of armor before. Did she know the Inquisitor's lover from somewhere? Marian had met a lot of people in the past…

It wasn't until she saw their feet tangled together did she put the pieces together, of just who was in the Inquisitor's bed. All she had to do was look at the sheets, there were two pairs of tangled feet peeking out of the bed, one pale foot belonging to the Inquisitor and the others were tanned skinned lyrium marked ones. She suddenly felt somewhat nauseous.

Though, much like a carriage wreck, she just couldn't look away. Her eyes drifted higher on the bed and at the top of the blankets she could see tufts of white hair peeking out, tangled with the Inquisitor's dirty blonde locks.

It took Marian a second to realize just who was in the bed with the Inquisitor. It was Fenris. Someone Marian thought had died months ago, or so Varric had told her when she asked him about their broody friend. He had stopped answering letters from anyone over a year ago and they had all assumed he had been killed fighting slavers along the border. The bastard had been alive the entire time and had just stopped replying. They had mourned his loss, and here he was alive and well, sleeping with the most powerful woman in Thedas.

He had been so adamant about ending the Tevinter slavers' tyranny...Marian wondered what had changed to have him decide to settle down with a Dalish clan, that, from what Marian understood, had a lot of mages.

Merrill would die of shock from this news or skip around the alienage.

Marian quickly fled from the room, not wanting to get caught. She had already seen far too much. She knew Fenris would not appreciate seeing him tangled up in bed with anyone, especially after she had rejected him in favor of Anders all those years ago. She needed to find Varric and a strong drink, not necessarily in that order.

 **Hey, did any of you see that coming? I know a few were curious about who Ellana was seeing prior to cannon events and now you know! Next chapter will hold much needed explanations to my inner madness and more twists and turns come about as we reach Adamant and the Winter Palace.**

 **Also, did anyone else feel that, in game, the Dalish Inquisitor didn't have nearly enough dialogue options to defend herself/himself against Vivienne? I felt like the game was forcing me agree with her more than I was allowed to tell her to stuff it. I know she's a politician, but between her and Morigan, the Dalish Inquisitor is treated like a moron that has no idea what Elven lore is or any of its history or meaning. So, I figured I put Vivienne in her place. I find her character fascinating in the same way I find a venomous animal fascinating, nice to look at, but only from a distance it cannot strike me.**

 **On to updating news! I got a job (part time, but still finally)! I start tomorrow for some hands on training (I'm really nervous)! So, what does that mean for you all? More than likely, nothing. I have everything, but the last chapter written. I'm waiting till I actually get there since I've been changing things as I've been uploading the chapters and I want it to be as accurate to what I have written as possible.**

 **Thank you to those lovely people that favorite, follow and review! They make my day, so keep it up!**

 **Now, I gotta get back to working on my NaNoWriMo stuff, 19,000 words and counting!**

 **~Animerocker**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! So, here is a super long chapter for all of you! =D**

The look on Marian Hawke's face when she returned from the Inquisitor's quarters worried Solas. It was as if she had seen a phantom of some kind and since the woman wasn't well acquainted with Ellana, it made Solas morbidly curious as to what she saw.

Though, the Champion of Kirkwall beelines for Varric, who had come over to sit with them for the remainder of breakfast, distracting the group from their theoretical fade talk onto something worldlier and it stopped as soon as Hawke tapped his shoulder. She pulled Varric to the side and whispered something in his ear that made his eyes go wide.

"Well shit," the dwarf swore, his gaze zeroing in on the door to Ellana's quarters. Ven snorted when he caught where their gazes lingered.

"Ah, I should have warned her that my sister had company staying in her room last night."

Everyone at the table, save Dorian, who looked a little bit too proud of himself, whipped their heads around to Ven. "Company? As in…" Bethany trailed off hoping that Ven was in a gossiping mood. Solas had noticed that the mage seemed to enjoy learning the juiciest gossip the Inquisition had to offer.

The elf didn't disappoint. Ven seemed to thrive under the attention. "As in a lover, yes. He came with me from the clan. Hiked up a mountain for her, wearing shoes, something he detests. Shows real devotion, that elf. Not that I like that he's with my little sister, but there are worse partners she could have chosen for herself."

"And here I thought she'd end up with Solas for sure," Bethany muttered, in what the Solas assumed she thought was a quiet voice, but she was solely mistaken. Solas nearly choked on the fruit he had been eating and Ven gave Solas a hard stare.

"You better not have been making passes at my sister. You, _hahren_ , are far too old for her."

Solas rolled his eyes at the jab at his age. "Fear not, _da'len,_ nothing has happened between me and your sister. We keep our interactions very professional."

Dorian made no effort to hide a derisive snort. "Oh, please, you watched her every move while we lived in Haven. Everyone thought you stalked her for Andraste's sake."

Solas felt a bit of color rising to his cheeks. He hadn't realized he had been watching her that closely, or that anyone would take it as something romantic in nature. He very much agreed with Ven, he was far too old for Ellana and what Ven didn't know was that he had far too much baggage to burden her further. Ellana had never pushed him towards something he wasn't ready for, no matter how much she truly changed, no matter her lineage, nothing could ever happen between them.

"It was nothing like you're insinuating, Pavus."

"Yea, it seems while she is interested in broody elves, she likes warriors, not mages." Solas saw Bethany's eyes widen at Hawke's description. Did they know whom Ellana was sleeping with? Solas felt like he was missing something important and turned to Ven for some kind of confirmation or denial, but the elf just pushed some food around on his plate, completely relaxed.

"Yes, our mother was so disappointed she wasn't interested in the first from a neighboring clan, but what can you do," Ven said with a dramatic shrug taking a bite out of a crisp apple.

"I'm guessing you know this unnamed elf?" Solas asked the whispering duo, Hawke and Varric's head turned to him simultaneously, looking like children that had been caught sneaking sweets late at night.

"I don't feel like I should be the one telling who the Inquisitor is sleeping with, whether or not I know who it is," Hawke admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Maker this makes things more complicated."

It was in that moment that the Ellana made her way out of her room, her hair tied up neatly, a light skip in her step. It was just like any other morning with her. The inner circle that was seated was staring at her as she approached. Her brows furrowed when she noticed their constant piercing gaze. Her focus then turned to her brother who held his hands up in a peaceful gesture.

"Lock your door," was all he said before going back to his breakfast.

Ellana's shoulders sagged, but she sat down next to Dorian, who was sending her smug looks. "Oh, don't start, or you don't get to meet him." That quickly changed the Tevinter's mood. He looked like he wanted to protest, but Ellana raised a power covered sweet threatening at Dorian and he quickly shut his mouth, not wanting to be covered in sugar this particular morning. Ellana began to pick up a large amount a food into a plate.

Her eyes glanced over to Varric and Hawke, who weren't looking at her. "I've already explained your situation here, Hawke. You don't need to worry, there isn't going to be any unnecessary bloodshed. _Everyone_ is going to be on their best behavior," she told them before she threw the powdery treat at her brother. It smacked right between his eyes in a puff of white. By the time Solas turned around she had vanished.

Solas raised an eyebrow. Just who was this mysterious elf, that he would cause such worry in two of the most laid-back people in the entire Inquisition?

* * *

It wasn't until later that evening that Solas ventured up to the Inquisitor's quarters. He had seen her lover speaking with Varric and Hawke in hushed tones near the hearth. A lyrium warrior…he hadn't thought he'd ever see one outside of Arlathan. The Pantheon kept them as elite warriors. They were fearsome creatures in ancient times solely comprised of the children of Elgar'nan. Though, lyrium used today was not the exact substance used in ancient times, the ceremony still had to be brutal with only certain bloodlines being able to produce it.

Had more Ancient elves gone to sleep and woke up to sire so many power elves of this generation? Solas wondered how a mortal elf could even withstand the ceremony to receive the markings, nevertheless function without being driven mad by the lyrium that seemed to be infused into his very being. Solas had always found the warriors disturbed, easy to anger, slaves to their rage and inner demons. The markings must be excruciatingly painful, even after years of having them applied, they were meant to keep the warrior ever vigilant.

It was even more disturbing that a mage from Tevinter figured out how to apply the markings without killing their subject. If Solas had no sense of self-preservation he would have gone and asked the elf how he'd managed it, but Solas knew better. The Tevinter elf seemed to be on edge as it was and shied away from most that made move to approach him.

Solas found it odd that Ellana would choose this particular elf to bond with. The two of them were obviously intimate. There were brief touches between the two, ones that seemed unconscious. He had seen the two of them move around each other with a practiced ease that not many could muster without prolonged close quarter living. Ellana had rejected many suitors throughout her journeys across Thedas. Fenris just didn't seem to be someone that Ellana would fall in love with. He was too serious for her playful and giving spirit.

Solas figured that this was as good a time as any to speak with Ellana about what her brother had told him the night before.

He didn't want to have to eliminate the twins when all of this was over with Corypheus, but it was starting to look like that was what he was going to need to do. In another life they could have all been friends. If they figured out his identity, it could ruin years of planning. So, here he was at her door, the biting chill of wind whipping though the broken fortress walls. A sense of dread filling him as he worked up the courage to speak with her.

It took a few moments.

Solas knocked loudly on the door twice and waited for some kind of reply. There was a muffled "come in" from the other end and Solas took a deep breath before pushing his way into the room.

The first thing that he noticed was that it was significantly warmer in Ellana's quarters than it was right outside of the door. The next thing Solas heard was the sound of a quill scratching on parchment. He looked towards the sound to see Ellana hunched over a stack of paperwork. She had three different quills on her person, one tucked behind each ear and one in her hand. They seemed to have different colored ink in each, red on the left and blue on the right, corresponding with the colored stains running down her neck.

"I didn't think that you were trying to take up body painting, _da'len,_ " Solas teased, causing her hands to jump to the two different wet spots on her neck. She cursed rather colorfully before removing the two quills from behind her ears.

She spun around eyes narrowed. "You are not who I expected to come and see me tonight, Solas. Is there something I can do for you?"

Solas had a good idea on who her preferred company would be, given the morning's conversations.

"You brother told me some rather interesting information yesterday evening."

Her mouth tightened for a moment. "Did he now? I told him to break the news gently. I should have known better. Ven isn't known for being…subtle. If you ever see him cast magic, you'd understand."

He'd keep that information tucked away for further investigation.

"Why didn't you say anything to me?" Solas asked, genuinely hurt. He had thought they had built some kind of trust between them. If they had a shared ancestry of some kind he thought that she would have shared it with him by now. They had nearly known each other a year at this point.

Ellana stopped what she was doing to give Solas an incredulous look, anger seeping into her expression rather quickly. "You don't have a right to be upset that I hid something from you, when nearly everything you tell me is a lie." Solas flinched. "You don't think I notice these things, but I do, Solas. I'm a trained assassin, I know when someone is lying to me and you do it constantly, even if what you say are merely half-truths. If you want me to be honest with you, you need to start being honest with me. You have secrets, _hahren._ I was not going to push you. Whenever I would begin to broach the subject of what you were hiding from me, you would close up. I felt that you would tell me in your own time, but you never did, so I never shared," she replied face red and her breath coming out quickly.

"Ellana, I'm sorry that I've-"

She held up a hand to stop him. "No, you don't get to say sorry and continue lying to me. You came up here to figure out how much I knew of you and your past."

He refrained from showing any visible surprise at her reading of him. "How much do you know of me?" He asked carefully, making sure to give nothing away.

"Past the fact that you're an ancient? Not all that much. Just some speculation on Ven's part, but I think he's fairly close to the truth. Though, from what he's told me, our mother has an idea of just who you are, but she isn't telling. Claims she wants to see you for herself first."

Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. Their mother was an ancient elf as well, he had nearly forgotten. Did she know him and if so, just who were the twins related to?

"Who was your mother?"

Ellana took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair, her blonde mane a bird's nest instead its usual braid. "She was a seamstress. She created things for nobles back in Arlathan. She taught me everything I know about sewing, though she has centuries more experience than I do with a needle and thread. Ven said she heard about my potential visit to the Winter Palace and is sending me something to wear. She is a powerful mage though, rose the ranks and became the First to our clan and then Keeper shortly thereafter."

That was more information than he was expecting. Her mother was a servant then. Solas let out a sigh. There was a very good chance that this woman had no idea who Solas was and for that he was grateful. At least his secrets would stay safe and Ellana and Ven wouldn't need to suffer.

He moved onto a safer subject.

"She's making you a traditional dress, I assume?"

"Something that the Arlathan court would be jealous of, or so Ven tells me," Ellana replied with a fond smile, her fingers twitching, as if they wanted to pick up a needle and thread.

Solas had seen some of the threadwork that Ellana had done and it was rather impressive, so he could only imagine how skilled her mother had to be. "It will be good to see something elven in the Winter Palace besides the servants," he commented dryly. If his spy network was correct, he would make a lot of allies in the Winter Palace.

"Would you like some kind of fancy Elven clothing as well, Solas? I'm sure my mother is bouncing off the walls to get to do her craft again. I'm pretty sure she's making something for all the Elven members of the inner circle, even Sera, which will be hilarious. Anything is better than the hideous coats that Josie came up with. She had me wear one and it fit me like an empty potato sack would," she explained, wrinkling her nose.

Solas had to agree with Ellana. He had been fitted for one of the Inquisition Jackets as well and it hadn't suited him at all. It would look nice on Cullen and Cassandra, maybe even Leliana, and they all had one thing in common, they were human. Josie made no concessions for their Elven companions.

"I have a feeling that I wouldn't be able to stop your mother even if I said no. Is our Lady Ambassador going to let you get away with wearing what you want to the Winter Palace?"

Ellana grinned.

"It is going to be a long drawn out fight, but I am not going to have every member of the Inquisition wearing those awful coats. I want to be as offensively elvish as I can to the people of Orlais, without actually cursing at them," she told him with a solemn nod, that almost got him laughing before she continued her small tirade, "it doesn't make sense to wear those hideous things, not when we have someone infinitely more skilled creating the clothing. Vivienne can jump off the battlements if she even dares to say anything about them when they eventually do arrive."

Solas snorted. He knew quite a few people within Skyhold that would pay a large amount of gold to have that event take place.

"I'd love to see that. She'd get a round of applause as she'd jump. There'd be celebrations throughout Skyhold for days."

Ellana ran a hand through her hair, leaning back in her chair, picturing the image with a fond smile.

"It be the party she'd want for her death, but not for reasons she'd want. Though, she would die before the scandal I'd cause at the Winter Palace and we wouldn't want that," Ellana added with a sadistic grin on her face.

Her vindictive side was always interesting to see.

"Yes, we wouldn't want that, would we?" He replied with a wry grin.

He was about to ask her something else when the door to her quarters opened and the sulky elf friend of Hawke's was back. He must have been talking to Ellana longer that he'd anticipated. When he noticed that Ellana wasn't alone he didn't strike out at Solas or seem all that surprised that she had another man in her room. The lyrium covered elf paid him no mind, passing him to press a small kiss to the crown of Ellana's head, whispering something into her ear, which earned him a light swat on the arm. Sols recognized the language he was speaking as Tevene, but he hadn't studied, so the mage had no idea what he said.

"Yes, yes, I know, introductions. Fenris, this is Solas, the mage who kept me alive after I got this mark." Solas could tell that she stressed the final part of her sentence since Fenris' eyes narrowed dangerously at the word mage. "Solas, this is Fenris. He's saved my life nearly as many times as I've saved his. He is also my betrothed, much to Ven's displeasure. The prat wants me to die a virgin."

"Yes, well, at this point your bother is delusional." Fenris said drawled and Solas could hear the Tevene in his accent and it grated on him. It was different from Dorian's, the accent was on slightly different syllables, but startlingly similar in pacing. It was a mix of high and low tongues. Fenris was someone that needed to know the language of those considered above him, but always be reminded that he was of a lower class.

Then Fenris turned to Solas, his demeanor calm, collected and cordial. "You have my thanks for saving Ellana. I don't know what I would have done, had I heard of her death."

The statement was left open ended, but Solas had a fairly good idea of what would have occurred if the Chantry and followed through with their original plan to kill Ellana.

This elf would no doubt protect Ellana until his dying breath. Solas would need to remember that for later. Fenris would be an issue in the grand scheme of things, that was for sure. "It was nothing. Ellana needed help and I gave it to her."

Ellana rolled her eyes. "Don't be modest, Solas. It's not like you."

He felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the jab, but brushed it off. "I'll leave you two to your evening. No doubt all of Skyhold will be gossiping about it tomorrow."

Ellana rolled her eyes. "Please, all they need to do is watch the lightshow from the battlements. Between my anchor and Fenris' lyrium brandings, everyone should know what's going on up here," she replied with a sultry leer that had the tips of Fenris' ears burning.

Solas took that as his cue to leave. He did not need to hear anymore of Ellana flirting. It made him a little nauseous, actually.

 **Well, what did you think? Like the extra long chapter? Next chapter is leading up to Adament and the Winder Palace. If I remember right, it is more of a filler chapter than actual progress into the story line. Either way, more fun with Solas being broody and dealing with the twins. Fenris is also going to be broody, as always. Too many broody elves in one place.**

 **Anyway, thanks for so many reviews, favorites and follows this week! I'm glad so many of you guys are enjoying the story! =D**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	18. Chapter 18

**Good lord, working on Black Friday sucks. I'm dozing off on my keyboard right now and I still have another 2000+ words to write for another story that I'm working on. Happy Friday by the way. Enjoy!**

It had nearly been a week since Ven and Fenris had arrived at Skyhold. The castle had been abuzz with rumors about the two Elven men from the moment they'd entered the Main Hall. Solas had heard his fair share of scandalized gossip amongst the Orlesian nobles about the savage Inquisitor not learning anything from spending time in civilized culture and sharing her bed with a Tevinter slave. It made Solas' blood boil a bit, if he was being honest with himself. It had been bad enough when the people of Skyhold thought that Ellana was sleeping with the Commander and that had just been baseless gossip since they were friends, but this was something they could actually use against her.

It all depended on the angle the people of the court were going to use to cause the most damage. Fenris was the name that was being thrown around the most since he was sleeping with the Inquisitor, who everyone had thought incapable of romance, even though the woman had set Commander Cullen up with little effort. Fenris also had no ties that would help him against the court. Though, the Tevinter elf paid their whispers little mind and went about his days normally.

Dorian seemed to be particularly amused by Ellana's choice in bed partners, joking about it loudly whenever she passed through the library. "I now know why you had an extensive vocabulary on offensive words in Tevene. You no doubt heard them more than once in the throes of passion," Solas heard Dorian tease from the level above him.

It made Solas cringe that Dorian was a large help in the gossip mill getting information about Ellana.

"Oh yes, and I bet you learned plenty of elven when my brother had you against the Tavern wall last night?" Solas nearly dropped his paints, his brush clattered to the floor instead. He hadn't heard about that. What was Ven thinking?

"That hardly counts, he was snarling at me and attempting to protect your honor," Dorian snapped, sounding extremely displeased with Ellana's crude insinuations. Ah, yes, a noble from Tevinter consorting with a lowly Dalish Savage.

She snorted, and Solas could picture her rolling her eyes, not believing a word that Dorian was saying. Solas would pay real coin to see the look on Dorian's face. It would more than likely tell the real story about the night before. "That's not how he told the story, but I'll take your word over my brother's. Ven has been known to…exaggerate certain details. When you're researching with him next, remind him that I can defend my own honor."

The volume of their conversation toned down and they'd obviously moved to Dorian's little alcove for some kind of privacy, which left Solas with his half-finished fresco and a drying paint brush still lying on the floor.

He sighed, he was going to need to clean that before continuing…

It was nearly an hour later when he heard the door to the rotunda open from the battlements with a little more force than necessary, resulting in a loud echo to go through the room. The smell of fresh snow and iron filled the room. It was an odd combination, but one that Solas found familiar and soothing. It reminded him of Skyhold, which, much to his horror was turning into some kind of home for him.

The quiet footfall of bare feet filled the room and Solas turned to see Fenris come into view. The elf usually spent his time with Hawke and Varric, or exclusively near Ellana. Out of all the times that he'd come in from courtyard, Fenris would go in through the Great Hall. It didn't seem like Fenris was a man to deviate from a pattern. Solas' curiosity was peeked. What had changed that would having him avoiding Hawke and Varric, since they would be the first two to intercept him in the hall?

Solas knew that the warrior spent the majority of his days training, even going so far as to help Cullen and Bull train the soldiers. The elf was a monster on the battlefield, wielding a great sword that even Bull had a hard time lifting with one hand. He'd seen Fenris with The Iron Bull, the two seemed get along, even going so far as to speak in Qunlat together. It was a horrifying sight to behold, one that Solas found highly disturbing. It grated on him to hear one of The People speaking the language of the Qun flawlessly.

When he'd asked Ellana about the different tongues Fenris spoke she shrugged her shoulders with a proud grin on her face. "He's a quick study for learning languages. He picks them up extremely fast. He knows how to speak five fluently. Elven being his most recent acquisition."

He was a man of many hidden talents, or so Ellana claimed and Solas was beginning to see why.

Though, he looked a bit different this afternoon, he was missing his usual broadsword, as well as his gauntlets and armor, which were replaced with a practice weapon and light under-armor showing off more his musculature and markings than normal. They were exact replicas from Arlthan and Solas had been attempting to find contacts to help him figure out how a Tevinter magister had figured out how to replicate them without another Ancient elf to assist him.

Fenris' green eyes drifted over to Solas and then towards the door to the left. It was akin to trapped animal hoping to make a quick escape from a predator. Skyhold seemed to make Fenris nervous and a little twitchy. Solas guessed that it was all the ancient ambient magic in the air irritating his markings. The lyrium lit up a little bit when he entered the room, causing the elf to turn and look at Solas in something akin to alarm.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Solas questioned the warrior. He'd been wanting to ask about his markings since he'd first seen them, but had yet to get the chance to talk to him alone.

"There's little I'd want to discuss with you," he responded briskly, moving past Solas and towards the exit. His markings began to glow slightly the closer he was to Fenris and the warrior tensed as he moved, almost a complete blur of motion, towards the door.

"I was wondering if your markings were bothering you," Solas said right before Fenris had put his hand on the door to leave and within a blink of an eye Fenris had grabbed Solas by the neck and lifted him off the ground. The paints and brush clattering to floor. It seemed that he didn't need his gauntlets and sword to make his hands any less deadly and Solas was paying for that mistake rather dearly.

Solas braced his hands against his desk to give a bit of leverage to make it easier to breathe. Fenris wasn't quite crushing his windpipe yet, but his grip was rather snug.

Fenris brought Solas close to him, "Let me make this abundantly clear to you, _mage_. I'm grateful that you have helped Ellana, but that does not mean that I trust _you_. Ellana and Ven both claim you have secrets. The last time that I knew a mage with secrets he blew up a chantry and started a war," the warrior squeezed Solas' throat a bit tighter before continuing, "if you so much as attempt to hurt Ellana, I will rip your heart out of your chest before you even realize that it's missing."

Fenris shoved him back into his desk, causing a book to tumble to the ground with an echoing clatter, before leaving the rotunda. He made sure to slam the door on the way out, just for good measure. Solas gripped his throat and winced, it was going to look awful if he didn't take care of it right away. He carefully applied healing magic to it before it started to swell. Maybe asking about his marks had really been a bad idea after all.

It seemed that Fenris was more dangerous than he had originally thought. Solas knew that the warriors of old that were marked like Fenris had immense skill in battle, but he hadn't thought that Fenris would have so much control over them. The Immortal warriors had needed hundreds of years to master their marks, and Fenris only had a decade or so with his. If the Dread Wolf was going to rise again, Solas realized suddenly, that he was more than likely going to need to kill Fenris and it was going to be more challenging than he'd originally thought. He let out a pained sigh.

His throat was still going to bruise. Damn.

"So, Fenris said hello to you?" A teasing voice asked from the archway by the stairs. He turned and saw Ellana watching him heal himself as she leaned against the archway with a practiced ease only a rogue could have.

"That was a hello?" Solas croaked.

"He tried to rip Dorian's heart out, if that makes you feel any better," Ellana replied with a shrug.

It didn't.

"But then again, that only happened because he mentioned the markings, which I bet you did as well. I suppose that I should have warned you that they were a really touchy subject to bring up in front of him?"

Well, that advice would have been good before he had met the prickly elf, but Ellana wasn't one to give away secrets. She gave Solas a look when he didn't respond right away and he sighed. "I might have said something."

Ellana rolled her eyes, waving a hand up dramatically, "Mages, you need to mind your own business. Leave his markings out your conversations and you won't need to worry nearly as much about him trying to kill you."

She walked over to him and leaned against his desk waiting for him to respond. Ellana knew that Solas was dying to get some kind of information out to her. "Do you know the true history behind those marks?"

Ellana raised a pale eyebrow questioningly and Solas sighed. Did she truly have no idea what she was sleeping with? Did her mother not warn her of the dangers of warriors like Fenris? "They were given to warriors of a certain birth status in Arlathan. Not everyone had the capability of using them and it made them extremely volatile and dangerous."

Ellana gave a small knowing nod, but there was a fond smile on her face. "I'd been told as much, as has Fenris. If you're worried about his parentage, don't bother. There isn't anything to find. The clans in my area all tried to track his father down, none were successful."

She had jumped to the wrong conclusion. He could care less about who Fenris' father had been. Solas didn't care to find another Ancient elf, as interesting as berating that that elf would be for sleeping with, and procreating with, a modern-day elf.

Solas rolled his eyes at the thought of a group of Dalish clans, with a few Ancients or not, attempting to find the identity of a child of their beloved pantheon. "He's dangerous, Ellana." Solas warned, hoping that she could see some kind of reason. He had seen armies decimated by warriors like Fenris and if he tore down the veil Fenris was going to be at the mercy of Elgar'nan.

"Yes, well that can be said for everyone person I spend my time with," she replied truthfully, looking at his artwork, eyes lingering on the wolves, "some more than others."

Ellana wasn't wrong and the more that Solas thought about what he had just told her, the more he could also classify that he had been talking about himself.

Solas wasn't quite sure if that was directed at him or not, but Ellana pushed herself away from the desk, leaned forward towards Solas, and tapped him on the nose. He went crossed eyed for a moment before looking back up to Ellana. "Don't fuss over my safety so much, Solas. I can handle myself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you jealous that I have another wolf in my life," she said with a wink before leaving him to his paint.

She knew.

 **I hope you enjoyed another installment of: Solas eavesdrops and something life shattering happens. Anyway, there will be more plot progression come next chapter...I think. Who knows.**

 **Thank you to everyone that has Favorited, Followed and Reviewed. It's a nice thing to do and I really appreciate it.**

 **Now, I gotta go and finish up my word quota for today. I have 40,600 words and I need to have around 43,000 before I got to sleep tonight. NaNoRiMo is almost over and I'm so close to finishing. I'm just so tied. =(**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	19. Chapter 19

**So, here is the next chapter. This is more of a set up for things to come, so enjoy! =D**

Despite knowing that Ellana knew his secret, Solas didn't have the courage to confront her before the group left for the Western Approach. Ellana had been treating Solas no different since that moment nearly two weeks ago. It was as if she hadn't aired his secret out into the open. It was puzzling and completely infuriating. Both Ven and Fenris hadn't left her side while she was in Skyhold. Though, Ven needed her to discuss treaties with various Dalish clans in the area for the ritual he was attempting to create and Fenris was her lover that she hadn't seen in months. It was almost as if they didn't trust her to be alone. Her dreams were no better. They were shielded by some kind of magic that Solas wasn't familiar with. It felt like a barrier, but it wasn't made of any magic he'd ever felt before. If it didn't terrify him, he would have touched it to see what it was made of. This left Solas to confront her in the waking world where she was always busy and on the move. Thus, pushing this very needed conversation off. He was vaguely hoping that she hadn't meant what she said. He'd also been planning the various ways that he could kill her in the upcoming months after they defeated Corypheous.

So, here he was in the Western Approach…Desert sand was just as awful as Solas remembered it being. It was everywhere, and it was sweltering hot. He had spent time in deserts before the fall and they were significantly easier to travel. Though, this was his first time traversing a desert without hair and much to his chagrin, Ellana had forced him to wear a hat to avoid his head burning and potential heatstroke, of course this could also be her way of getting back at him for ignoring her for the past couple of weeks while he planned her death. The hat was really just an over glorified cloth. Then again, Solas was nearly positive Ellana had cut up a pieces of her own shirts just to make sure that his health wasn't compromised. Did she really know the implication of her words to him two weeks ago?

Sera found this hilarious and enjoyed pointing out how ridiculous he looked when the…hat… would droop down slightly and cover his face.

Hours upon hours in the sun had made the entire team more than a little irritable, luckily there were more than enough Venatori for them all to take out their frustrations on. Sera was taking real pleasure in putting plenty of arrows into the magisters. Hawke wasn't too far away if their maps were correct, but the sun was setting, and they needed to find a safe spot for the night. It wasn't until they had found a small oasis that they set up camp. As soon as the sun set Solas pulled the hat off his head, barely resisting the urge to throw it onto the ground in revulsion. He was exhausted. Even though he had been building his mana for months, he still tired easily. Ellana refused to carry lyrium of any kind within the group. Her clan's mages never touched the potions, so she felt that the mages of her team shouldn't rely of them either. Solas had never tired it himself, never felt the desperate need, but sometimes he felt tempted and Solas was glad that she didn't keep them, instead she carried wasps in a jar…

"Inky, are we almost there yet?"

Speaking of annoying buzzing…

Sera groaned flopping on the ground, causing a small cloud of sand to puff into the air and right into Solas' face. The mage coughed and vainly attempted to remove some of gritty sand out of his face and mouth.

Ellana chuckled and motioned with her thumb in a vague direction north, "Yes, it's a bit before the fortress not too far in the distance."

Sera squinted into the darkness. Solas wondered if she can actually see the fortress. The archer had fantastic eyes, ones that her ancestors would be proud that she inherited.

"If you say so. Friggin sand, gets friggin everywhere. Girtty shite…" Sera grumbled, trailing off as she attempted to get comfortable.

Blackwall rolled his eyes fondly at the young elf, "Who is going to be taking first watch tonight?"

Solas held back a groan. It was technically his turn to be on the first watch tonight. Right before Solas opened his mouth Ellana sat down next to the fire, her duel blades sitting next to her.

"I will. This way I can get enough sleep to get up and get us breakfast before her grumpiness wakes up," Ellana volunteered waving the warrior away. He gave her a grateful smile. It was obvious to Solas that the human wanted to get out of his armor for a short while. The air was cool instead of sweltering and Blackwall was going to take full advantage of that.

Blackwall wandered over to his tent and within seconds his snores filled the air. They sat in silence for a while. Ellana was cleaning her blades and staring out into the distance. It was like any other night in camp. She was treating Solas no different than normal, even going so far as to sit next to him as if he hadn't created the downfall of Arlathan. Ellana turned to Solas as she picked sand out of her braid, "you're more than welcome to get some rest. You've used a lot of magic today."

Solas sighed, he hadn't thought that she noticed. Then again, she comes from a family full of mages, she more than likely has needed to watch her brother for mana drains more than once. Solas honestly needed to be more careful about showing any kind of weakness in front of her. Ellana observed everything. "You noticed?"

She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the statement. "Of course. We've been fighting quite a lot today as well as creating barriers to protect all of us from harm. If you were anything like Ven or Dorian you would have been complaining the entire time about how tired you were," she replied with a gentle smile and a shrug. Solas had to be wrong about her knowing his secret. She wouldn't want to be around him otherwise, or her brother would have mentioned something.

She was acting far too normal.

He chuckled at the thought. Ven and Dorian were quite a pair when it came to whining over absolutely nothing. "That does sound like them."

She shooed him off. "Go enjoy the fade, Solas. We'll wake you for the final watch before dawn. We have a big day tomorrow meeting Hawke. We wouldn't want you half asleep for it."

Of course, the meeting with Hawke had been a disaster. It seemed the woman attracted them like a moth to a flame. They had arrived at their rendezvous point in record time, but both Stroud and Hawke were rushing them into a battle. It wasn't hard to see why. The Wardens were using bloodmaigc designed by Corypheous to enslave them to his will to raise a demon army.

How…overly dramatic.

Solas knew that Ellana had seen a demon army in the ruined future with Dorian, but to think that it was raised using this kind of mind control was disgusting. Bloodmagic was one thing, but human sacrifice was a little bit too close to the corrupted gods of old for Solas' liking.

The man in charge was a weak Tevinter mage. He was coward and a snake, using the Wardens as shields for himself. While Solas hated the Wardens he didn't feel they deserved to die the way they were, mindless husks being used as demon hosts to crack open the veil and be used to enter the Black City.

It struck Solas that this was a little hypnotical of him to think that way. He wanted to tear down the veil as well, but he was going to be using his own power to do so. There was no need for mindless slaves, he had spent his entire life fighting slavery…only to wake up in a world that had abandoned magic.

It was odd for him to even think that those without magic were real in this veiled world, but he couldn't imagine Ellana being sacrificed by her keeper for some kind of power, even if they thought it would bring back a god. The thought made him feel physically ill and it made him worry that his resolve for his mission was faltering.

It didn't take long for Inquisition's plan of attack to go south. The slippery magister had figured out a very basic way to manipulate the anchor, no doubt taught by his master, to manipulate _Solas'_ magic in a way to cause Ellana pain. Solas felt his jaw clench, his mana rising to the surface. This human was going to pay for that. He was sorely tempted to break the spell himself and risk exposure. Ellana had declared her knowledge of his identity, but she hasn't told anyone else. Solas began to build his magic, but Ellana grunted and forced herself up. She brought her hand up and reversed the spell on her own causing everyone to be blasted back in the aftermath.

Solas rolled into the clay wall behind him. His back took nearly all of the impact, knocking the wind right out of him and any magic that he was going to cast was lost. His grey eyes widened as he watched Ellana take control of the wild ancient magic coursing through her with nothing but her will.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Ellana snarled, eyes blazing, hair undone from the force of the magic. She looked every inch the Dalish savage that the nobles of Skyhold feared. Her dual blades were suddenly in her hands, glowing with runes that she had been bragging about crafting with Dagna the night before. Solas scrambled to his feet, grabbing his staff. He heard the others doing the same.

In the blink of an eye she disappeared and a weak cry from one of the controlled Wardens was heard when he dropped dead of severed jugular, blood pooling quickly under the dead man. The Magister audibly squeaked and sprinted for a quick escape ordering the Wardens to attack as a distraction.

Sadly, the distraction worked.

The battle was a bloodbath. With two mages, two warriors, an archer and an assassin, there wasn't much a small group of mind controlled mages and demons could do as long as they were careful. Ellana was cutting through the demons easily with her demon-slaying duel blades. There was an enraged snarl on her face as she cut down the mind-controlled Wardens, blood splattering on her face and hair.

Comparatively, to what the group had been fighting outside out in the desert, these men were nothing special and it showed.

Solas found the whole situation ridiculous and in their haste to take down the current group of wardens the magister in charge slipped away. "Coward." Ellana spat as she wiped her dual blades clean on her pants, caring more about her weapons than about her clothing. Solas took stock of her injuries, knowing that Ellana wouldn't take care of herself. She had a few cuts on her arms that were bleeding freely, a minor burn on her leg, but nothing that needed immediate attention.

"That man needs a few arrows up his bum. Enough to make a pin cushion," Sera growled, kicking at the dirt in front of her.

"Or make him look like a Quillback." Hawke suggested with a shrug as she shouldered her staff once more. For once, Solas couldn't agree more.

Sera cackled.

Oh dear, she got an idea.

"That's a lot of arrows. I like the way you think, Hawke," Sera replied with a slightly suggestive wink and Ellana rolled her eyes.

"As lovely as talking about bums and arrows is, we still need to clear the fortress out in the north, as well as find the locations the darkspawn have been coming from. Would either of you mind helping?" Ellana asked Hawke and Stroud, dragging her sleeve over her face in a vain attempt at cleaning a rather large amount of blood right under her eye.

Stroud shook his head and Solas ground his teeth. Wasn't this the man's job? Wardens claim to want to help to stop the blight from spreading, but if it isn't for their direct benefit why not turn to bloodmagic and hiding?

Hawke on the other hand cracked her knuckles. "Anything to kill the boredom. Stroud, go on ahead. Might as well pay my tab by helping clear this fort out with you," she replied grinning, pulling her staff back out.

"That's not even going to come close to what you owe for breaking that table, and the bedpost, not to mention the all alcohol you had," Ellana told her with an exaggerated eyeroll. Solas had heard about the brawl that had broken out in the Herald's Keep.

"Eh, just put the rest on Varric's tab."

It was going to be a long walk to the fortress.

"Hawke, tell me, how many did you break a bedpost? Were you and your glowy mage bumping bits?"

Hawke grinned.

It was going to be hell walking back to Skyhold.

 **What did you think? I felt like this was more filler, setting up for the shit show to come in the next chapter, because, good lord, the fade sucks. The fear demon is going to have a lot to say to Solas, especially since Ellana fully understands what is being said. =3**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows. The really make my day.**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi everyone! Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

It took weeks of meticulous planning, but Ven was finally ready to perform the exorcism. Dorian, Solas and Ven had spent at least half a dozen nights huddled together in the library figuring out all of the runes necessary for a possession of this magnitude. The three of them had been using all the resources at their disposals to find source material to base the removal off of. Dorian, of course, was using his contacts back in Tevinter for answers, but he kept running into the same problem. The only solution that they were giving him was bloodmagic. Bloodmagic was forbidden, that went without saying. There were far too many Templars here that would attempt to kill them for even thinking about using bloodmagic. More often than not, Solas would hear Dorian and Ven arguing over different magical theory while he worked in the rotunda. Some nights Solas wasn't even sure the two of them made it back to their rooms. It was causing quite a lot of rumors.

Ven had been asking different clan's firsts for their opinions, not that Solas put a lot of stock in the wisdom of the Dalish, but it made Ven leave Skyhold, which usually freed up a bit of time that Solas could spend with Ellana, who was planning her assault on Adament.

Some of the firsts were willing to share texts that they had found or kept over the years. He seemed to have some luck with that.

Solas, as everyone expected, asked the spirits for guidance. He wasn't overly familiar with possessions. Spirits had the ability to become corporeal if they so desired in ancient times, but that was no longer the case, causing the need for possessions to occur. The spirits he'd spoken to were rather tight lipped on the process. It seemed to be a guarded secret.

In the end they didn't have too many options. Solas found that without using blood magic there weren't too many different ways to pull a spirit as corrupted as Vengeance out of Anders and they had assured Hawke they would be able to do this and Ellana was beginning to doubt their abilities.

Ven had eventually found an obscure text written in ancient elven that held the answers they were looking for. Solas had dated it from after the fall, but before the rise of the Chantry. He'd received it from a clan not too far from his own, but the text itself took weeks to get to Skyhold and the elf that had brought it had refused to give the book to anyone, but Clan Lavellan's First, much to Solas' annoyance.

Ven had carefully taken the text, traded something covered in halla leather and made his way towards the library. Ellana watched the exchange next to Solas, "He might not seem like it, but he is a very good first. He's great at communicating with the other clans in a way that not many can achieve," she boasted, eyes shining with pride over her brother's rather meager accomplishments. Solas wanted to scoff as he looked around Ellana's throne room. This elven woman had brought Thedas together and was stitching the sky and she was proud of her brother talking to other clans?

He would never understand this woman. He shook his head and made his way to follow Ven. He was going to need to the help him with translations.

Ven had eventually double-checked his translations with Solas before declaring he had found the correct runes and spell work of the ritual. They would only be able to attempt this once, so they were going to need to make it count.

They would need three mages, a rune circle and in the end, much to both Solas' and Ven's displeasure, they were going to need to bring Ellana into the same room as the spirit. Ellana had enough to do as it was and she didn't need to be in the same room as a temperamental spirit of Vengeance. They were going to need her connection to the fade, to open a rift so they could properly expel the demon and seal it away, till the next sorry soul struck a deal with it.

She agreed to help with shrug of her shoulders. She had opened rifts once or twice before and was willing to assist them in fulfilling her promise to Hawke. The two women had created some kind of awkward friendship and Ellana never broke a promise.

Of course, Anders had no idea about this entire operation. No one wanted Vengeance to figure out their plan and destroy Skyhold. So, here they were in the undercroft of Skyhold, runes ready and waiting. Dagna had been more than happy to lend her space to them, as long as she got to watch. The only parameter was not to blow up her stuff. Only she was allowed to destroy her equipment with ill thought experiments.

Ven and Dorian were quietly flirting and discussing magical theory, much to Ellana's and Solas' annoyance.

"Oh, come on, Dorian, you have to admit that the Dalish savage managed to outsmart you here. I found and translated the text," Ven teased, wiggling a finger in Dorian's face.

Dorian scoffed inching his face closer to Ven in what Solas supposed was an intimidating manner. Or, it would have been that way, if Ven didn't grin and move closer. "Hardly, I would have figured out some way to remove the spirit using what I'd found in Tevinter."

"Can you two wait until after we remove the spirit to ease your sexual tension?" Ellana asked, fidgeting with her blades, the demon slaying rune within made them glow with an unnatural light. Her comment caused the two to jump a part, Dorian's face reddened slightly at her accusation and Ven grinned unrepentantly at his sister.

Ellana was leaning against the far-right wall pointedly ignoring her brother as he poked Dorian's mustache. She looked exhausted, bags were under her eyes. She had been planning their attack on Adament for the better part of two weeks and it was showing.

Her eyes were trained on the door, her hands grasping the hilts of her dual blades. Solas stood next to her waiting for Hawke to bring her lover into the room. It didn't take that long. As soon as they heard footsteps they got into position. Dorian and Solas were going to assist in grounding and channeling magic through Ven, who had done similar exorcisms in the past. Solas wasn't sure that Ven was going to be able cast this spell properly. The amount of magic needed should be beyond a mortal mage, child of an Ancient or not.

"Ready to begin?" Ellana asked, watching her brother warily, the mark on her hand pulsing slightly. He nodded, making his way to the center of the room. He clapped his hands twice, sparks igniting when his hands met. Ven was nearly glowing with power as the runes became brighter and brighter, almost blindingly so.

Solas realized that he had never seen Ven cast magic before this, never questioned if he had the sheer power to hold a spell like this without faltering. The young mage must have a ridiculous amount of mana reserved. Solas hadn't realized that just how much power this spell was going to require, no wonder Ven asked for two other mages to help him.

It wasn't long before the sound of footsteps and quiet chatter could be heard from the stairwell. The runes began to light up under and Ven's feet. The door opened and Solas saw Hawke push Anders forward into the room. The runes were pulsing with power and as soon as Anders stepped into the room the spirit reacted, taking over the mage's body, but it was trapped.

Blue wisp like chains bound him, causing the spirit to go to onto its knees. "You dare attempt to bind me?" The spirit asked struggling against the binds.

Ellana stepped forward, blades swinging at her sides. "No one is binding you. We're removing you and sending you back to the fade," she promised with a threatening hiss to her voice.

"You don't have the power!" It challenged, attempting to break the chains.

Solas saw Ven's knees quiver slightly, but none of them could move from their spots. Only Ellana could move freely.

Solas felt a tug on his mana as Ven sent a powerful pulse of magic into the chains causing the spirit to choke on his words, a guttural noise leaving Anders' throat. Solas narrowed his eyes at Ven, that was entirely unnecessary and the small grin on Ven's face just affirmed that it was just for show. Ven was lucky that Solas had a deep reserve of mana, he wasn't sure how long Dorian would last though, so they'd needed to make this quick.

"It seems we do have the power," Ellana said as she raised her left hand, calling the power of the fade to her.

Solas felt a very faint tug on his mana this time as Ven uttered words in Elven. At first it seemed like nothing was happening until suddenly Vengeance and Anders began to separate in a hazy blur. It was as if there were two of them with Vengeance as only an after image, but seconds later Anders slumped over and only the spirit remained upright, glowing a sickly blue. Vengeance seemed disoriented so Ellana opened up a small rift and Ven sent out a powerful mind blast that brought Dorian to his knees, caused Solas' to buckle slightly, and blasted the spirit towards the rift. Ellana brought her blade up and pushed the spirit the rest of the way in, brought her hand up and sealed the portal with a pained grunt. Solas could see that her hand was an angry red from opening and closing a rift in such a short amount of time.

Ven released the spell and Solas let out a breath. He was going to be tired tonight, but Ven looked ready to drop, his usually tan skill pale and sickly, his lips white. As the runes dimmed it became more obvious just how much effort it took to remove the spirit. It wasn't long before Ven staggered over against the wall behind him. Both Dorian and Ellana went over to him. His sister put a hand to his forehead and wiping away a bit of sweat from his face. He was going to be out for hours.

Solas watched as Hawke rushed over to Anders checking for a pulse and sighing in relief when she found one. "Come on you fool, get up," she muttered slapping his cheeks until the mage stirred.

"Hawke? What happened? Where's Vengeance?"

Tears gathered in her eyes. "Gone. The Inquisitor and her friends removed it."

It wasn't long before the group staggered out of the Undercroft. Ellana and Dorian carried Ven to his room even though it was obvious that the ordeal took a great amount of energy out of both of them as well.

Solas made his way back to the rotunda and laid down on the sofa and closed his eyes, just until he felt rested.

 **So, where does Ven get his power from? =3 Everything is coming together. Next chapter is all about the fade. It's going to be a really long chapter. Originally, I was going to break it into three parts, but I've decided against it. I want the story to progress and I figured that you all would prefer it if I gave you some longer chapters.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites this week!**

 **See you all soon,**

 **Animerocker**


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter is 4000 words, enjoy! =D**

Marian decided that after taking care of business at Adamant, she needed a vacation. Somewhere warm, away from Templars, mages, demons, combat and any other kind of destructive force. While she was great at killing things with her staff, she needed a break.

As much as she has enjoyed her time with the Inquisition, there was no way that she was going to stay with the organization. It was getting a little bit too big for her tastes and Marian didn't need people recognizing her as a hero again. She had enjoyed the anonymity that had come with working with the Inquisition, but someone was soon going to realize who she was and that was going to be more trouble than it was worth. She was going to need to walk away from Bethany again and that was going to be hurt. Marian had just started to reconnect with her sister, gushing over her ironic crush on Commander Cullen.

Varric would keep them in contact, hopefully. She didn't want to lose what she had. They had both lost so much in Kirkwall.

Despite everything, Marian also had Anders back, through a miracle. She wasn't sure which gods to thank, her own or the Elven pantheon for bringing her Ven and Ellana Lavellan. If they all lived through this, she was going to make sure that she wrote to them, and maybe even sent a bit of fine linin up to their clan as a thank you gift.

There was a dull roar, and Marian twirled her staff quickly and ducked. A fireball flew over her head, a rage demon seemed to be having a bit too much fun lobbing molten rocks, breaking Hawke out of her revere.

The ramparts were a mess and wardens were fools. Blood magic and demons were never the answer. So many good men and women were dying over a twisted Magister's will. The smell of burning flesh and blood filled her nose and she turned to see the charcoaled remains of an Inquisition soldier. She wasn't going to be able to hold the ramparts much longer.

Marian let out a sigh and fired a powerful ice spell at the creature, stopping it in its tracks for a moment before it suddenly shattered, a knife hilt sticking out it, held by a now visible Inquisitor.

Sneaky woman almost gave Hawke an early heart attack.

"Heard you needed some help up here!" The Inquisitor shouted over the violence before she leapt into the air and brought both daggers down onto an unsuspecting despair demon that crumbled under the pressure of her glowing blades.

"Well, you know how it is with demon hoards. Tend to get out of hand."

The elf grinned as the rest of her group caught up with her. She had brought Solas, Sera and Cassandra, the seeker and mage were giving her disapproving glares.

"You were supposed to wait for us, Inquisitor," Cassandra grumbled, bringing her shield up just in time to block a demon claw from severing her head from her neck.

The Inquisitor brought her blades up and helped the Seeker kill the demon before she replied, "well you were taking far too long. Our men needed me."

Marian swore the remaining soldiers let out a collective breath seeing their Inquisitor in action, defending them from danger.

"Less chatting and more dead demons!" Sera shouted as she brought an end to four more demons with a jar of what appeared to be bees.

It wasn't long…well it was about three more sections of the ramparts and at least six more demon hoards before they had any time to catch their breaths. The group for the most part was unharmed. A few singes here and there, but nothing that was going to stop them from ending this battle. "Where're your brother and Fenris? I thought they'd be here?" Marian asked, glancing at the Inquisitor who was bandaging a burn on Cassandra's left bicep.

"My brother has to do something for the clan. Trust me when I say he wishes he were here more than anything else. The gods forsaken idiot wanted to show his battle magic off. Fenris is his assigned guard, more to keep him out of trouble than anything else. Neither of them are particularly pleased that they are stuck back at Skyhold together, but that's the Keeper's orders," she answered, never taking her eyes off the wound she was treating, "Why do you ask?"

Honestly, Marian had witnessed the power that Ven had used pulling Vengeance out of Anders and was beyond impressed with the Dalish mage's skill. She had really wanted to see him in battle. "He's a powerful mage. I figured we could use him in the fight."

Marian heard Solas give a dry chuckle at her response. "That was his argument as well."

Marian turned to the apostate who was leaning against the far wall. He looked relaxed despite the heated battle going on beyond the walls in front of him. Solas only had a few smudges on his pale face, he barely looked out of breath and Marian was honestly a bit jealous. She had gone through one vial of lyrium already to keep her strength up. It was one of the reasons that no one was healing Cassandra's arm, they were attempting to conserve mana.

"Yes, well, he can't go against the Keeper, so this conversation is pointless. We really need to keep moving," Ellana replied as she rocked back on her heels and stood up admiring her handy work before she picked up her weapons once more. It seemed that they were going back into battle.

And keep moving they did, right into the arms of an Archdemon and into a fade rift.

The Fade sucked, and Marian decided that she was getting too old for this shit.

* * *

Solas had never been in the fade physically. It shouldn't have been possible, but then again, Ellana enjoyed doing supposedly impossible things. The Black City was so close, he could see it at every angle from where they landed.

Arlathan was right there and pieces of city all around them. He could see the city floating just out of reach. He could feel the old gods' magic roaring in his ears. They couldn't linger here long without drawing their wrath.

"Where are we?" Stroud asked, looking a bit more than a bit disturbed at their location, which was horizontal on a rock formation before he crashed in a heap on the ground.

"The fucking fade, that's where," Ellana hissed, standing up and rubbing her backside.

"We're physically in the fade?" Hawke whispered in awe and horror, "That should be impossible."

Solas, for once, agreed with the woman.

"Welcome to life of the Inquisitor," Ellana muttered as she helped Sera up, who looked horrified at her slightly green tinted surroundings. This was certainly not something the magic hating elf signed up for. It brought a twisted grin to Solas' face.

"No, no, no. This isn't real, this is a dream," she had her hands over her ears, and her eyes squeezed shut. She was terrified…not an emotion that Solas had honestly ever seen the girl show and for a moment, he felt like an ass for relishing in her pain.

It was a fleeting moment, but it was still there. Sera was young and from what hints Ellana had shared with him about the young archer's past some of her fears were forced onto her by humans.

Ellana squeezed the archer's shoulders slightly in a comforting gesture and waited till Sera removed her hands from her head before moving towards Cassandra, who had already gotten herself onto her feet.

"This is the fade?" The Seeker questioned, straightening herself out with a brisk brush off of some muck that had stuck to her front from the landing.

"I believe so. When the Inquisitor opened the rift, we all fell in," Solas replied for Ellana. There was no need for her to give everyone the same answer.

"So, we're trapped in here?" Stroud asked, and Sera gasped before gripping onto Ellana's shirt.

"No, we just need to find another rift out. There was one open in the center pavilion in Adamant. So, theoretically, there should be another rift somewhere relatively close by," Ellana replied, looking into the distance.

Solas was mildly impressed by her answer. It was the correct one, he could see the large rift in the far distance.

The group hadn't even moved a foot before Ellana gripped her head and fell to her knees, blood was running down her lip from where she bit into it. Solas rushed over to her worried that the old gods had found them and were using the slave mark on her face to hurt or even worse, control her. Oddly enough the marks was nearly silent. Instead a glowing green figure pulled itself out of Ellana, creating a glowing spectral body.

"What the frick?" Sera shouted, bow at the ready. The others quickly readied their weapons.

At first, Solas thought it was an old god come to kill them all, or a spirit that had somehow possessed Ellana through the mark, but that was until more details formed and it spoke.

"How the hell did you manage to fall physically into the fade again and in a realm of nightmares, really?" It was Ven, manifesting himself spiritually in the fade with them. Solas wondered how deep the twins' bonds went if he could find his sister this deep in the fade.

The group took a collective step back from him and Ellana, well, all but Solas. "Ven, how are you here?"

The elf looked put out, crossing his glowing arms. "Cole came to me panicking that Ellana had gone into the fade, so I figured I go to sleep and pull myself to here to help."

Ellana spat a bit of blood out her mouth and glared up at her twin. She had to be in a lot of pain. Solas could see her muscles trembling.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous what you're doing is?" Solas growled looking at Ellana.

"I do, but you're going to need all the help you can get. These _shem_ don't know the fade the way we do."

He wasn't wrong, but Solas was nearly positive he nearly just killed his sister. She wasn't a mage and Ven needed to remember that. She was connected to magic and the fade in the same manner they were. Forcing his magic through her…well, if they weren't blood related, Ven might have murdered someone.

Solas was going to need to check her over as soon as they got out of the fade.

"Speak common, elves!" Cassandra snarled raising her sword towards Ven's translucent form.

"Stand down, Cassandra," Ellana snapped, staggering to her feet, her mark flaring in response to her anger. The Seeker lowered her weapon without argument. "Ven is using his ability as a dreamer to help us. We need to keep moving, not fight like fools."

"As you wish, Inquisitor." She replied briskly, her sword still raised, but nevertheless obedient.

The journey was difficult, but it was going smoothly until they reached the first Eluvian. Both Ven and Ellana stopped to examine it, their eyes raking in every detail of the broken mirrors and then back towards the Black City. They seemed to be having a silent conversation with a few small hand gestures between them. It was their own language without words. Ellana had mentioned once or twice that they were a good hunting pair since they spoke without words. Ven motioned for Ellana to touch the mirror and Solas nearly jumped when it lit up under her hand for the briefest of moments. Ven looked back at him his bright form's glowing eyes boring into him.

Did they know what they were looking at? Were they piecing things together?

Solas dearly hoped not.

It was interesting to watch the twins fight together, even though Ven wasn't at his full power he could still influence the fade enough to fight with them and turn the tide of battle without too much of an effort.

They worked perfectly in sync with one another. More often than not, the two fought back to back and when Ellana would disappear it seemed that Ven would know exactly where she was at all times, covering her with impressive spell fire. If Ellana needed something to land on, Ven would conjure it, if Ven needed an enemy dispatched, Ellana was already there slicing their neck. It spoke of an unyielding trust that they had in each other. It wasn't the way that Ellana fought with anyone else that he'd seen.

It wasn't long before they met "The Divine", who was just another spirit. She was helping guide the group through the demon's traps, so at least they were getting help. Ellana seemed skeptical of the spirit of the "The Divine" before them, as was Solas. He didn't think that anyone could survive in the fade as long as this woman had, unless this woman was really just a spirit that had taken over the qualities of the past Divine, a spirit not unlike Cole. Though, neither of them voiced their opinions with Cassandra so close by.

When the demon realized that they were making their way through his realm with relative ease it began attempting to tear them apart with their own fears. For the most part the group just ignored it. Sera just shouted at it and stuck close to Ellana. Solas swore he saw Hawke flip the demon off from the corner of his eye. "Hawke, you just got your life together…and to lose it all so fast. It's just like Kirkwall, isn't it?"

"By the Maker's soggy breeches, he sounds just like my uncle," Hawke muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Then the demon began to speak in lilting Elven that grated on Solas' nerves more than it should have. To hear the language so perverted was horrific on its own. The demon was broadcasting his fears to the group. Not that most of them could understand it, but the twins could.

"What do they think of your sins, Pride? Two halves of a whole elf those two cursed twins. Conceived of ancient magic, only to be born cut off from it? Do you feel your dreaded crimes crawling on your skin? In your soul? In your very blood?" The demon teased.

Solas snarled, but didn't respond. He wasn't going to give it the satisfaction. Cassandra was getting nervous, her hand going to her sword and eyeing not only Solas, but Ven as well for any kind of what Solas would assume was possession. It was almost comical at her lack of trust at this point.

"Ah, Ven, are you going to be able to save you sister today? Or are you going to watch as her own family ends up killing her from the inside out? You poor useless thing, what has magic touched that hasn't been tainted?" The demon sang, it's voice echoing for the group to hear.

"You're going to need to need to try harder than that to scare me! You've obviously never met our mother!" Ven shouted in common at the demon, giving Solas a single questioning glance before floating off to follow his sister, who hadn't even bothered speaking, just looking ahead as the mark flared in her palm. Ellana honestly hadn't spoken much since they'd found her memories. She had been single-mindedly trying to keep the group together and moving towards the exit. All the demon's taunts sliding off her like a greased nug. Ven seemed to be the one that was taking the insults personally and was goading the demon on further.

"You know, I really don't want to see your mother mad, if this world doesn't scare you," Hawke commented as they reached the apex.

"Ellana, do you think that you're going to live through the year, the next second with the amount of pain coursing through your body on a regular basis? Are you going to be able to save Thedas knowing you aren't the Maker's chosen?"

Solas saw her roll her eyes. "I never proclaimed to be the Maker's chosen and I've lived through the last seven months in pain, I'll last for a little while longer. It's going to take more than my mortality to frighten me!"

"Ah, you little children of sin, it seems that mortality will always be on your minds. And you, Ellana, will be the first to fall," the Demon promised and Solas could almost feel its satisfaction wafting through the air.

The fade rift was in sight, but the battle was far from over. The fear demon finally showed itself and the real battle began. Cassandra and Stroud took to shielding Solas, Hawke, Sera, and to a certain extent Ven as well, but he was all over the battlefield with Ellana. From what Solas had noticed was that Ven couldn't be too far away from his sister without losing his connection to this part of the fade. Much like a spirit seeking out a mage in their sleep. So, instead of staying in the back and fighting by flinging spells he was using a fade-crafted sword to cover his sister, who was slashing the demons apart with brutal efficiency.

Ven's form was supposed to be long dead, one that Vivienne would be jealous of. It was obvious that Ven had been taught by an Ancient in the art. The sheer force behind every swing was accurate and deadly, but never dangerous to any of his allies. Solas almost wished that he was here fighting physically in the fade with them in this moment. The mage would have been extremely helpful at his full power with them.

Even after defeating the demon another one took its place, larger and more dangerous than the last one. Ellana was left with a choice, either Hawke or Stroud were going to have to stay back, since both were rather vocally volunteering. Were humans always this eager to end their lives? "Neither of you are going to die today," Ellana decided as Ven turned to her.

"Ellana, give me your hand, just like we practiced." Ven said suddenly holding his translucent hand out for his sister to take. What had those two been up to?

Ellana took a deep breath and called the power of the anchor forward. Ven began to glow even brighter. Solas was intrigued what were these two planning?

She sighed and nodded. "If I pass out after this and die to this monster, I'll haunt your ass from the rest of eternity," she told her brother and then turned towards the group, "run towards the exit, now!"

Sera and Cassandra didn't need to be told twice. Solas, Stroud and Hawke all moved towards the exit quickly, but waited to see if they'd need to step in. Ellana moved back slowly. Then Ven grabbed her hand with the anchor and nearly became solid as he conjured a fire storm worthy of the ancients, drawing on the power of Solas' foci magic, which should not have been possible for a dream created version of the mage.

The nightmare burned under the intensity of the fire and screamed. Ven began to flicker out and Ellana rushed towards the exit, pulling the group with her through the rift. Ven gave one last wink before disappearing. The four of them tumbled to the ground, Ellana staggering to her feet and closing the rift, sweat and blood covering her face and her eyes tired. Her arm was badly burnt, red and raw from where her brother channeled the power of the anchor.

They were victorious and much to his horror, she did not banish the Wardens, but brought them on as part of the Inquisition. Though, thanks to her and her brother's quick thinking the Wardens had Stroud to keep them in line.

It wasn't long before Ellana was being tended to by Solas in her private tent. He had been going over the anchor with his magic and realized that Ven had actually drained some of the raw magic out of it and removed some of the anchor's taint from Ellana's system. "What did your brother do? He seems to have drained the mark of some of its power."

She gave him a small smile. "I was wondering when that was going to come up." She ran a hand through her matted hair with a sigh before continuing, "We'd figured he might have been able to manipulate the mark while in the fade some time ago. We'd never actually practiced it on that kind of a grand scale or figured how much of a power boost he would receive, but theoretically it would have worked, and it did," she said, but hissed when Solas poked a rather sensitive spot near her elbow.

"You could have died, Ellana. Ven could have killed you!" Solas had healed the majority of the internal damage that Ven's little trip into the fade had caused Ellana. That stunt had potentially shortened her life exponentially if he hadn't treated her right away.

"I'm not dead, Solas! I knew the consequences of letting him use the mark, somewhat. No doubt he'll want to try it again." She replied, "and what right do you have talking to me when it seems that you seem to be planning to betray me, if the demon is anything to go by."

Solas froze half way through casting another healing spell.

"Demons lie, Ellana."

"Yes, but I'm talking about the grave marker, Solas. Dying alone? What are you planning on doing that would merit us all alienating ourselves from you for you to die alone?"

Solas nearly recoiled at the spot-on accusation. She had realized that the fears that were on the headstones were ones that each person could consciously make, and if they weren't careful, each fear could consume them.

"Ellana-" she put a hand over his mouth.

"No, Solas, you listen to me. You aren't alone and I will go to the ends of Thedas to make sure that you stay that way. You have a family here. It might not be the kind you want, but we're here. Don't close me out by lying to me again. Neither of us deserve that after the night we've had."

Her words were underserving and shame clawed at his gut, but he nodded. His chest felt warm, and for a moment he almost wished that her words were true and that he could forget about what he was planning to do to the world. All he wanted to do was bring back the People to their true power.

He finished healing her arm, the dull green glow had faded and he released her hand. "Get some rest, Ellana. It's going to be a long ride back to Skyhold."

"Don't even get me started. Cullen is going to be talking my ears off about Bethany, Sera is going to be telling awful dirty jokes, Cassandra is going to be disgusted by Sera's behavior, you are going to fight with Sera over something stupid and I'm going to have to break all of it up, every day for nearly a week."

Solas smiled tiredly. At least she was alright, for now. This mortal soul was worth protecting.

 **And Adament comes to a close and the twins weird powers only become stranger and Solas just becomes even more confused. XD Next chapter is the interim between the Adament and the Winter Palace. What has Ven been doing while the Solas was away? Why did he need Fenris watching him? You'll all find out soon.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows this week! =D**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	22. Chapter 22

**This is a fun chapter full of fillery goodness. Have a lovely weekend to everyone celebrating Christmas. Think of this as an early gift from me to you. See you at the bottom and enjoy! =D**

 **Chapter 22**

It had taken a little bit less than a week for The Inquisition to make its way back to Skyhold and those that had ventured into the fade spent most of it in uneasy sleep. A realm of nightmares tended to leave scars only meant to witness in vivid night terrors. More than once Solas heard the mocking voice of the demon, claiming that the twins would be the beginning of the end of his plans. Each time he'd wake with a gasp, search around camp and see Ellana curled tightly in her bedroll, face drawn and tired even in sleep. The anchor would flare occasionally and more than once Solas thought about ending her life right then and there, but that would be giving into the demon's taunting.

Solas honestly felt bad for Sera, who seemed to be taking the entire ordeal the worst, even with Solas' lack of sleep he felt that he was in a mentally better place than the young elf. The archer was jumpy and had obviously had a lot of trouble sleeping, whatever the demon had told her in her sleep was effecting her worse than everyone else. Ellana had asked Solas for sleep aids that she could slip into Sera's food or drink just to get her rest.

Ellana had been sleeping nearly the entire trip back. It was like she had been drained of all of her energy and Solas figured that the draining of the mark is what had her so tired. She had also mentioned that occasionally Ven would steal some of her energy when he was low on mana. If that was the case, Solas was going to have words with Ven when he returned to Skyhold because it was beginning to seem like he used his sister a lot when it came to his magical experiments.

They arrived at Skyhold tired, sun burned, and ready for a few weeks' worth of rest. Even Ellana was getting a few days off from official work to heal from her injuries. She wasn't going to be able to get anything done with her hand still burned.

Solas spent the next evening in his room and then the next up to the library to look for Ven, who could usually be seen on the opposite side to Dorian. Ven was easy to spot, with his thick foreign braids tied at the top of his head, a large tome on his lap, mage fire caught in a jar for light, as he sat cross legged on the stone-cold floor of the library.

Solas sighed and made his way over to the young elf, who, when Solas shadowed his tome looked up.

Ven blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting. "Solas? What's going on? Do you need me for something?" He looked tired and worn, his grey eyes a little bloodshot, more than likely from strain due to reading these tomes in dim lighting.

"I'd like to talk about what happened in the fade."

The elf fidgeted a bit with his hands, this was a new side of Ven that Solas hadn't really seen. He looked nervous. "Do you?"

"Do you realize that you almost killed Ellana?" Solas hissed, making sure that no one could hear them. Solas didn't need this getting around Skyhold.

Ven sucked in a breath. He honestly seemed shocked. Was this news to him? "What?"

"Ellana didn't tell you of the extensive damage you did when you forced your conscious self through her mark?"

He shook his head and bit his lip. He suddenly looked upset and a little hurt and much more his age than normal. When the arrogant smirk was off his face he appeared a boy fresh out of his teens. "I had no idea. She didn't say anything. Cole was just so scared, and he said I could help. So, I did. I didn't know that it would hurt her…"

"Yes, well you should have checked on her! She's been in Skyhold for over a day now."

"As you know, my sister is always on the move. I haven't been able to catch her. I'd been hoping if I sat in here long enough she'd come to say hi to her Altus over there." Ven replied gesturing to Dorian, who waved when he realized they were looking at him. Ven gave a small friendly wave back before turning his attention back to Solas.

Honestly, Ven's plan was solid. There was a great chance that Ellana would come to gossip and catch up with Dorian. She usually did after long stints away from the fortress. "You need to be more careful with your magic, Ven. You're powerful and with that comes responsibilities."

"That's rich coming from you," Ven muttered before grabbing his tome and making his way over to Dorian, ending their conversation. Solas didn't stop him, paralyzed at Ven's accusation. The other elf didn't so much as look at him, instead he flopped onto Dorian's lap and reopened his tome, much to the Tevinter mage's, shock and Solas' mute horror.

So, instead of bothering to continue talking to Ven he decided to hunt Ellana down. He needed to figure out why she was keeping her health from her brother, but she proved elusive. He eventually caught Ellana eating cookies with Sera on the Tavern roof. He'd seen them do this once or twice before. Each time they'd nibble on a cookie and end up spitting most of it out.

A waste, but they seemed to enjoy it.

Solas waited for them to finish on the bench under the Tavern. He could hear bits and pieces of what they were talking about.

"They're better this time."

"Actually edible, yea?"

"I told you chocolate chips were better than raisins," Ellana replied through what Solas assume was a mouth full of cookie.

"And you were right. How's the arm? Still all crispy?" As eloquent as always Sera.

Ellana gave a rather undignified snort. "It's still a bit stiff, but it's getting better."

"Speaking of stiff, how's Sir dark, brooding and glowy doing knowing you took a tumble into the fade again?"

Were they talking about Fenris?

Ellana laughed, cookie crumbs raining from above.

"He's fine. Worried over my injuries. I had to stop him from going after Ven for causing them, but otherwise he'd just as broody as ever," she replied with a content sigh at the end. Solas resisted the urge to gag, Sera didn't.

"How do you stand it? I mean, I bet the light show is interesting and all, but he's just so…ugh."

"He's got his finer points. Once he lets himself relax a bit he tends to be less, broody and a bit more fun. I quite enjoy his dry humor."

"Bleck, you would, you weirdy. Don't get how you enjoy pointy bits."

"I enjoy all bits, thank you very much, Sera."

The archer cackled.

How mature…Solas thought with an eye roll.

He would question her another time. Occasionally, Ellana needed time to herself or with certain members of her Inner Circle to feel normal. Sera or Dorian tended to be her go to options and since Sera had been in the fade with them, Solas supposed that she was the optimal choice. He stood from the bench and made his way back to his room, at least he had a new idea for a fresco.

The Inquisition's Inner Circle had mandatory dancing lessons for the coming ball at the Winter Palace in the Ambassador's office. They were coming to the Ambassador in groups. From most troubling to only slightly problematic. There was a stuffy looking Orleasian woman with her willowy male assistant teaching them. While Solas knew that they all needed to know how dance, he didn't know that the Ambassador was going to attempt to teach them six different styles, all varying in rhythm.

Of course, Vivienne, Dorian, Leliana, and the Ambassador herself were experts at high society dancing and were only here as a courtesy, or at least in Dorian's case, he was there for a good laugh. Varric had bets going for who was going to kill whom by the end of lesson.

Solas had attended many different balls back in Arlathan. He knew the dance forms that Orlesians had based their own off of and after seeing the different movements the instructor had shown them, they hadn't changed all that much. This was all a review for him, but it was entertaining to watch The Iron Bull charge around the room and Cassandra struggling not to lead and stepping on the toes of the instructor. They hadn't even gotten the chance to pull Ellana around the room yet. She was watching from a distance, a smile on her face when Sera attempted to show the instructor what dances she knew. Solas swore the woman almost had a heart attack on the spot.

It wasn't long before Solas made his way over to her and extended a hand. "Would you care to dance?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, she was teasing him, her eyes twinkling, "What kind of dance? The woman has shown us at least six this afternoon."

"A waltz?"

"Seems simple enough. Don't step on my toes," she told him with a wink, knowing full well he was trained to dance. One did not live as long as he had without picking up a few skills and Ellana at least suspected that.

"So confident. Have you danced before, _da'len_?"

She nodded, much to Solas' surprise. "Yes, and I had a wonderful instructor at the time."

"Let's show these humans how two savages dance?"

The wicked grin he got in response was more than enough for Solas to begin gliding across the room with Ellana. It was obvious that she had danced before, but it wasn't something that she practiced often. While she was a little clumsy at first, she quickly fixed her mistakes and even let him give her a little twirl. She genuinely laughed as they started to move across the room and past Bull, who had been told to stop as the Instructor moved to sit down with her swollen feet.

They moved past the Ambassador who gave them both surprised looks, especially when Solas ended by dipping her in front Leliana. "Do I really need that much practice, Josie?" She asked from the dip. She looked utterly ridiculous, but it fit her.

The Ambassador rolled her eyes. "Yes, because you are going to need to learn more than just a waltz, Inquisitor. You also need to learn to dance without those that aren't Elves so you can learn how to dance with different partners, not even taking into consideration when we get your dress, you're going to need to practice in that for at least a few hours."

Ellana sighed as Solas pulled her back up. "The clothing should be here soon. That's what Ven said anyway."

"My dear, you should really have let me handle the wardrobe. It is my specialty," Vivienne commented from her position against the far wall.

"They hardly know how to dress an elf outside of servants clothing. I wasn't going to let them dress me in clothing that would make me look like an elf playing human. I am going to look like an Elf that belongs in high society."

"My dear, Elves have never been a part of high society."

Solas scoffed, looking very much like the hurt noble he tried to hide. "The ancient Elves were more cultured than the richest of humans of this time. You tend to forget, Vivienne, where many of your circles highest magic techniques, dances, and technology come from."

She sniffed, turning her nose up and walking away. Solas smirked, squaring his shoulders, that felt too good.

"Your ancient elf is showing, _hahren._ " Ellana whispered into his left ear, causing him to jump. When had she walked over?

There was a wide grin on her face as he turned to face her, his eyebrow raised questioningly at her expression. "Was it now?"

He hadn't thought it was possible for her shit eating smirk to become any larger until her smile was all teeth keeping her voice low, "I could almost see the ancient regalia on your form as your ordered around your underlings."

How did she know he was in charge of anything in ancient times? He felt that he hadn't given too much away when talking with her. For all accounts he could have been a part of the lower class. "I had servants?" Solas looked around the room to see if anyone was paying attention to the two of them, but they had all gone back to attempting to figure out how to dance.

She rolled her eyes fondly at his paranoia. "Of course, you can't do much of anything mundane on your own without making a mess of it. Screams nobility."

His cheeks colored a bit at the comment, thinking back to his first attempts at sewing, mending, cooking, and pitching a tent. He'd embarrassed himself something awful, but he had swallowed his pride and figured out how to do it with some help. It was scary how close to the truth she was. Though, he was treated as a god for a very long time, far above mere nobility.

It was then that Hawke pushed in the door to Ambassador's room open and Fenris tumbled in glaring at the woman. "Lady Montilyet, I found another dancer for you. I assume that you are taking him to Winter Palace?"

The Ambassador's eyes widened, a hand over her mouth, "I completely forgot to invite you, Ser Fenris," she turned her eyes to the Orleasian instructor who was looking at the warrior disdainfully from his bare feet all the way to the visible brand on his forehead.

"I don't have time to teach another savage, Josephine. I've done all I can for now with what you've given me. Next time, I will just be working with the Inquisitor! If I decide to come back at all!" The woman said, looking much like Vivienne before storming out of the room, the clicking of her heels echoing in the room. Everyone shared a look, Bull and Sera trying to contain their laughter.

"Was is something I said?" Hawke asked, bewildered as she watched the instructor stomp into the main hall.

The Ambassador slumped against her desk and Sera, Bull and Varric all slipped out of the room, pulling Cole with them and whispering conspiratorially. That instructor was never coming back to Skyhold once they were through with her. "I suppose I'll need to look for a different instructor," she said with a defeated sigh, before turning back to what was left of the class, "well, for now, just watch, Fenris."

The soft sound of Leliana playing a lute filled the room and the dancing picked back up. Solas saw Fenris' brows furrow, watch what the others were doing. Solas wondered if Fenris had even seen nobility dancing before. From what he had learned of him, Fenris had been a slave to a vicious Magister, one that Dorian had commended him for killing.

It wasn't long before Fenris walked over to Ellana and held out a hand to her with an exaggerated bow. It seemed he knew some proper protocol after all. She gave him a coy smile, "Are you asking me to dance, ser?"

"Don't ruin this. I'm only asking once," he warned teasingly. She put her left hand in his, causing both her mark and his brands flare with the contact before he pulled her into a slightly more advanced version of the dance that was taught this afternoon. She laughed as he spun and guided her across the room with a bored and practiced ease. The Ambassador's mouth was open with a lack of a decorum rarely seen.

Dorian and Hawke moved to join Solas on the side of the room, watching as Ellana just enjoyed herself dancing. "Champion, where in Thedas did he learn to dance like that?" Dorian asked, mustache twitching.

Hawke grimaced. "Tevinter. While he is free now, he wasn't always that way. Danarius forced him to learn to dance for the various events he took him to. From what he'd told me, Danarius showed him off like a dog and all dogs need tricks, but I'm just glad that he's taking joy in something he learned, besides ripping people's hearts out."

Dorian spluttered and Solas choked. "I had heard about that. I thought the rumors exaggerated."

"Nope." Hawke replied with a pop at the end. "Those rumors are completely true. One thing that Varric's bloody books didn't lie about."

It was odd seeing her be playful with someone else. While Ellana was typically kind to others, she wasn't playful with most. Solas, Dorian and occasionally Sera were the only ones that got to see this side of the Inquisitor.

When the music ended the two elves bowed, as the custom before Cassandra, Cullen and Leliana all politely clapped. Hawke gave lewd whistle and Dorian just sported a knowing grin that caused Ellana to roll her eyes. The Ambassador was rendered speechless. "I think I broke Josie," Ellana mumbled, breaking away from Fenris to check on her friend, who snapped out of her trance and pounced on them.

"Why didn't you tell me that Ser Fenris could dance? He could have helped instruct everyone!"

"Well, I didn't want to force him to dance if he didn't want to. He'd also have needed to put up with Vivienne for hours. I didn't want her heart being torn out."

"Please, he'd reach in and there would be nothing to pull out." Dorian sneered, causing Hawke to let out a rather loud chuckle.

Cassandra glared at him and Dorian held up his hands, "tell me I'm wrong!" The seeker said nothing. "See there is no argument. The woman's a nightmare."

"Well, now that we've finished discussing Vivienne's lack of heart. I need look over some paper work. I enjoyed dancing with my two favorite wolves. I'll see you both later." Ellana said with a wink before exiting the room with an exaggerated flourish.

Solas' blood ran cold. There it was again. The wolf comment…was this just something she affiliated with him…He really needed to approach her, but he was honestly a little worried to hear her answer.

 **I edited too much stuff these past two days. I put up another fanfic on Fridays and that chapter was 5,500 words long while this one was 3,300. That's just too much writing in my opinion. Regardless, everything is slowly coming together!**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, follows and alerts! They mean a lot!**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	23. Chapter 23

**And here is the Winter Palace! It's a short chapter. Next chapter is going to be about 3000+ words! Enjoy!**

The Winter Palace made Solas feel like he was back in Arlathan, the politics, the backstabbing, the sex, it was all too familiar. He had even managed to connect with his spy network. Everything was running smoothly, for the most part. None of the inner circle members present had made fools of themselves, not even Sera, who seemed to want to jump out the nearest window at the earliest opportunity, or Cassandra who was walking so stiffly in her dress that she would trip over her dance partner's shoes.

Leliana was in her element, she was watching as the Game unfolded in front of her, as well as judging the different outfits the other guests were wearing. Josephine was with her sister having a small family reunion. And then there was Commander Cullen. The man was completely out of his element and the Orlesians were enjoying playing with him. The poor man was going to have quite a few marriage proposals by the time they returned to Skyhold. Solas had seen Fenris once or twice, but the warrior was mostly shadowing Ellana and was surprisingly good at keeping himself out of sight at a ball. Then again, he was the only one out of all of them that was posing as a servant. His hair was dyed black and quite a bit of makeup was used to cover his markings. Solas knew that he had to be careful not to say something to his contacts while Fenris was in the vicinity.

Ellana had been the talk of the ball, not all of it good, but not all of it horrific. For the most part she had the nobles eating out the palm of her hands. She knew how to play her exotic charm as a Dalish Elf to these people. Many of the nobles were scandalized by her dress. It wasn't the overly large, frilly things that the Orlesians were obsessed with these days, but a form fitting, light floor length gown with accents that screamed elven in their design. The dress itself was a simple of white color with gold lace down the arms and around the neck. Nearly her entire back was exposed, traumatizing half the court. Not to mention that she didn't have shoes on, just traditional leather wraps around her soles. All and all, she looked stunning and the court didn't know what to do with her. That was, until she started talking to the nobles and charming them like she had known the Game all her life. Solas swore that he'd seen her actually rob one or two them. The court found her alluring and interesting, keeping their minds off of the true reason they were here.

She had stopped by to talk to him at one point, a flute of champagne in one hand, still completely full. He had been standing near an exit, in case he needed to make a quick getaway, just listening to the rumors that were being created.

"Did you know that I have been given sixteen different champagne flutes this evening?" She asked as she dumped the entire flute into the nearest potted plant.

Solas raised an eyebrow at the behavior. "Is there a reason it is getting thrown away?"

"I don't really feel like being poisoned this evening, so I'm avoiding eating or drinking anything not given to me by someone I know," she responded with a quick shrug that would have the Ambassador scolding her.

Smart woman.

"Enjoying the ball?"

Small talk, lovely. "I am. I always enjoyed events like these. The betrayal in the air always makes for excellent drama."

"And you tried to convince me that you weren't nobility," she teased, voice light and airy and for a moment Solas wondered what she could have been like in another life, one that was located farther into the past. The court would have loved her. Mythal in particular would have enjoyed her witty and ruthless nature.

"Well, I see nothing gets past you. Was there a reason that you came to talk with me?"

She leaned in, her voice a near whisper. "Yep, meet me near the servant's quarters in ten minutes."

And, that was when the ball became a battlefield, much more familiar territory for the group as a whole. They ended up running around the entire palace, solving one problem after another and finding clues of an illicit romance between Briala and the Empress. Ellana thought that it would be excellent blackmail or at least a half decent love story. Cassandra thought that it was rather romantic, and Sera thought that it was stupid.

Luckily, through some miracle, Ellana hadn't managed to bloody her dress and made her way back to ballroom to dance. It was what Ellana had been dreading the most. She didn't mind dancing with friends, but she didn't like being the center of attention. She was a rogue. She worked in the shadows, dancing where everyone could see you was unfamiliar territory. Despite everything she seemed to pull off the dance easily and even dipped the Empress' cousin, gaining more court support, much to the Ambassador's amusement.

The greatest part of the ball was when Ellana exposed Florianne. It was done in such a grand manner that it had Solas grinning ear to ear.

It wasn't until everything had calmed down that he'd realized Ellana had disappeared. Solas moved towards the balconies and found her and a guest, who he belatedly realized was Fenris, looking out into the distance. Solas kept himself out of sight, but close enough to eavesdrop.

"Enjoy the ball?"

"It's been a long night," Ellana admitted, rubbing her shoulders as a breeze blew by. Fenris wrapped an arm around her without thought. She turned back to him. "What did you think?"

"It wasn't that different from the ones held in Tevinter. Maybe with less blood sacrifices, but just as loud, and just as unnecessary with Elves being forced to do all the work behind the scenes. I'm not a fan of the hair dye."

She ruffled his now black locks, her posture relaxed. "Well, it's different from anything I've ever experienced. Did you learn anything from you adventures?"

"That the Inquisition is causing rebellion amongst the ranks. They see you as something to aspire to. An Elf with the power to change Thedas, a dangerous thought to have in their heads."

A low waltz began to play from the ballroom and he heard Ellana sigh wistfully. "Want to dance?"

Fenris visibly stiffened, "Here?"

"You danced in front of my entire inner circle. We're, for the most part, out of sight here."

The warrior took a step away from her and bowed slightly, offering his hand. It wasn't long before they were gliding across the balcony in their own small world, if only for a few moments. Solas had to admit that Fenris was a lovely dancer and he probably made Ellana's night by giving her a moment to dance.

 **Hey, I know this was a short chapter, but the next one is going to be a long one. It was originally going to be a three parter, but I'm keeping it together as one, which is a treat to you! The story is starting to come to a tipping point where my final and most jarring plot twist is going to come through. No one has guessed it yet. Someone came super close a few chapters ago, but they were only half correct. They're missing the other half of my twist. I haven't seen this kind of twist done before, so I'm not sure if anyone is even thinking about what I'm about to do. It's going to be told in the next chapter, so put all you're guesses out now. I love reading them.**

 **So, review, follow and favorite. I love seeing all the new people that read this story. =)**

 **See you all next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	24. Chapter 24

**And, this my friends, is the chapter I've been leading up to since July! Happy New Year! Enjoy!**

Emprise du Lion was one of the harsher environments that Solas had the misfortune of traveling. If the bitter cold didn't cause enough misery, the vast amount of bloodthirsty Red Templars was more than enough to convince the most seasoned warrior to turn tail and run. But, the Inquisitor was not a normal warrior and with Cullen getting tips that there was a red lyrium mine somewhere in the area, they'd need to stay until it was shut down for good.

To make matters even more unbearable, Vivienne was traveling with them for the first time in months. Ellana needed her to translate the local Orleasian dialect for her. Of course, the Enchanter was possibly even more miserable than Cassandra, Ellana or Solas with the way that she harrumphed and sighed through their long treks through the snowy wasteland.

Ellana seemed to be enjoying the snow for the most part, claiming that it was better than the Western Approach and Hissing Wastes' never-ending sand. "At least this melts and with Dagna's heating runes, we don't need to worry about frost bite," Solas had heard her mumbling once or twice as she led them through various Red Templar encampments.

"Are you sure the Commander received accurate information, darling?" Vivienne asked for the fourth time this afternoon.

"Yes, Vivienne, I'm positive. Once we clear the mine and find the townspeople, we can potentially head back to Skyhold for a time."

This human was something else…Solas rolled his eyes and spoke up, "there was mention of a demon in a fortress further north."

"Ellana let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're right. I completely forgot about that. Thank you, Solas. After we clear the mine out, we'll send a message to Cullen and then clear out the demon infested fortress."

So kind hearted, it was going to get her killed one day.

The group marched onwards deeper into the heart of Emprise de Lion. Cullen had been correct that there was a mining operation, what he hadn't known about were the methods in which they were getting the red lyrium. They were using the town's people to farm it and then let it consume them. It was nauseating, but then again, that feeling could just be from the red lyrium. More than once he had felt the compulsion to reach out and touch it, but he'd resisted so far.

It had taken the rest of the day, but they had freed the town's people and found quite a few clues about Sampson's whereabouts. Ellana was over joyed at the progress made and she and Cassandra enjoyed destroying the mine. "Hopefully, we can figure out how to clean up all this red lyrium. The stuff is a plague. Then again, Leliana mentioned that a friend of hers is looking for the cure to the blight. Maybe I can offer aid. I'm going to need to send a letter." Ellana muttered to herself as the group made their way back to camp to rest for the night before they explored the northern fortress.

Solas felt like he was floating, drifting in and out of consciousness for some time before finding himself in a field of vibrant wildflowers. He felt at peace, with only the breeze from the mountains in the distance making the grass rustle. He shook his head a few times before he realized he was in the fade. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, he'd been fighting a demons and Red Templars. A red templar had gone to attack Ellana and he didn't remember much past that moment.

It took him a moment to notice that he was in a startlingly familiar setting, one from his childhood, one that he did not create. He felt a presence push at his mind and enter with ease. He smelt lilac and hard steel and then a hand press against his arm.

He spun around and faced the intruder and at first he thought he was looking at Ellana, but she didn't carry a staff and then realized who this woman was. He had thought died thousands of years ago. His Spymaster, Myna, in her full Elevhen glory, glaring daggers at him, her gold eyes sparking. "And here I thought I would hear from you sooner than this. Shows what the Dread Wolf thinks of his Advisors. I hear you are going by the name Solas once more," she sneered, as she pushed familiar blonde hair out of her face, making her _vallaslin_ more prominent on her face. She was one of the few he never removed the slave markings from. Myna was his best undercover agent in her Mother's court. As much as he had worked with Mythal, she always had her own agenda and she would have never suspected her outcast daughter to spy on her, but she needed to appear as pious as possible, so the markings stayed.

Solas gaped for a moment. It wasn't often that he was left speechless. "I thought-" he began, but was interrupted moments later. Myna always did have a fiery temper. It was something that had drawn him to the woman in the first place.

"No, you didn't think. You have other followers in this era doing tasks for you! They've tripped over my network that I laid the groundwork for decades ago," she seethed stalking up to him and pointing a tanned finger into his face, "Audul and Lali are alive as well, and we're all asking the same question as to why the Dread Wolf hadn't even bothered to see if his most trusted were still alive? You never even checked. We had to find out by feeling your magic tear a hole in the sky!"

Solas swallowed, feeling more ashamed of himself than he normally did. All of his most trusted agents had been alive, and he'd assumed they perished after the fall. Then again, they had been sons and daughters of the Elven Pantheon, powerful mages in their own rights. If anyone were to survive it would have been them.

"If I had known I would have contacted you right away. It's just I thought that you had died when the veil was erected in the first place."

Myna snorted derisively, "If only it had been that easy. No, we put ourselves to sleep, in a vain hope that you survived. When I woke up I found myself in a strange new world and then shortly thereafter I realize that I'm pregnant with my most trusted leader's children. I was lucky Lali and Audul had been monitoring me constantly otherwise the three of us would have died!" She hissed, forcibly lifting him off the ground and bringing his face to hers, creating the eye contact he had been hoping to avoid.

"We had all been happy for a time, until I sent Ellana to the blasted Conclave to make sure the _shemlen_ weren't going to fuck the world up anymore, but then you do it instead." Her face was flushed with anger, her teeth clenched.

The pieces were finally starting to fit together in his head and his blood ran cold and even though he was dreaming, he felt faint.

He had always been very careful about fathering children. Solas had always known how dangerous any child of his could be. He could still remember the moment he had between Myna quite clearly. It had been the night before he had created the veil. It was a single moment of passion before the end, or so he thought. He never thought she would live to see another day, never mind actually have children.

The two of them were definitely dangerous. Ven, if he had been born in ancient times would have terrified the Pantheon. He had more power than should be possible, a mage born from the most infamous of the Pantheon and then grandson of the revered mother. Ellana was a different kind of danger, the perfect assassin and a fantastic leader.

Ellana and Ven had been giving him hints about this for months and he had been too blind to see it. It took Myna coming in and nearly beating the information into him to see the truth. The twins were his, it was why Ven looked so familiar, he reminded Solas of himself in his younger years, Ven had his wild streak. It was why Ellana reminded him so much of Myna and Mythal. She wasn't a distant descendant, she was a direct relation. He had brought a death sentence on Ellana through his mark, his own child was dying.

"Then I find out that your mark is on my daughter's hand and that she's more than likely going to die from it when my son collapsed in the middle of camp screaming in agony as his sister nearly perished." she screamed, her voice raising, shaking him to the point it was hard to focus on her. "You bastard. What. Did. You. Do."

"I was trying to fix my mistake."

She released him. Solas brushed himself off and in the split second he took his eyes off of her she raised her hand and slapped him. The sound echoed in empty space. Solas swore he was going to feel this when he woke up, even if it was just a dream. Myna scoffed, arms crossed, ready to shout at him. "You were going to bring down the veil? Revive the Pantheon? Destroy another world?" Her voice cracked, "Are you mad? You'd kill hundreds of thousands of people, again, for what?"

"To bring us back to our glory! Revive our world! This isn't just for me, but for the People!"

"Times have changed! Our Empire has fallen! Help us pick the People up the correct way! Help Ellana make the world see the People as a force to reckoned with once more. Help me and my People stop Briala from making a bloody fool of herself? Why is destroying the world always your go to plan? _Fen'harel,_ stop being a lone wolf and work with the pack you abandoned!"

Solas flinched at being addressed by his age-old name, his badge of pride. The scene around him changed to a battlefield of Arlthan, hundreds of bodies lay before them. The fresh smell of burning flesh and blood filled his senses. He tried not to gag, remembering this battle all too well. This was shortly before the erection of the veil. They had won the battle against Falon'din's warriors, but at what cost? Both he and Myna were wearing armor from an age long past, the eyes of the wolf on their backs, reminiscing at the sight of the carnage. "The People have fallen so far, Myna."

"We've fallen further and picked ourselves up over the ashes of our enemies before," she turned to look at him, gold eyes nearly glowing, defiance written in her features, "We are the last of the Elven People, never again shall we submit. Will you stand with your People again, _Fen'harel?_ Or will you be the villain that Dalish paint you to be?"

He rocked on his heels, hands behind his back. She had the power here. Myna had been awake longer, her power more restored. He had handpicked her for her mind magic and torture techniques. They'd loved each other once. For him it felt like months ago, for her decades. But, could he stop his plans for her? He'd never done that in the past, but his mental magic had always been stronger than hers.

"How did you even enter my mind?"

She grinned and circled him like prey, "head injuries will do that to you. Ven mentioned something about an accident with a demon in some fortress. I took my chance."

His mindscape shook for a moment as he recalled what happened. It was blurry and disjointed. He had pushed Ellana out of the way of the demon's attack before everything faded out.

At least he wasn't dead.

Solas cradled his head in his hands a groaned.

"I suspect that you have some questions for me, Solas? I've done quite a bit of shouting and not much explicating…" she confessed, a slight blush painting her pale cheeks.

He let out a weary sigh. There had been something that was bothering him, something he had planned on asking Ven more than once, but never quite got the chance to do in private.

"Do you approve of Ellana's choice in chosen partners?"

Myna froze her posture almost disbelieving at his first question. "Ah, you've realized who he is descended from?"

Solas gave her his driest look and she rolled her eyes. Myna had to know the risks of having Ellana near a monster like Fenris. "You know very well that he has to be. No one else would be able to wear those marks without dying."

"He's very devoted to her. You haven't seen them together like I have. They care for on another and that is more than enough for me. Many people bond for less than that," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. It was something she used to do back in court when she didn't like something she had been told by one of the servants.

"He's not a mage, Myna," Solas reminded, a warning tone in his voice. He wanted Ellana to be happy, sure, but the preservation of the People's magic was important.

"Neither is she, but her brother is, I am, you are, Fenris' sister was a mage and there is always Fenris' potential father to take into account. He was more than likely a mage as well. Magic runs strong in both their blood."

Solas hadn't known about Fenris sister and then warrior had made no mention of her in any of the conversations he had around Skyhold.

"You never answered my first question," Myna reminded, her hands folded behind her back, her hair blowing in the conjured breeze. Solas was reminded why he had originally pursued her, she was a classic Arlathan beauty, one that didn't quite know how her looks affected those around her.

Solas bit his lip. He had come so far, he couldn't just stop. This world wasn't what it should have been. "I'm not sure I can abandon my plan. I need time."

Myna came close to him once more and Solas expected another strike, but instead she cupped his face in her hand and forced him to look her in the eyes has she spoke. "Think on it, _Fen'harel_ ," she told him with a shrug before her mouth was inches from his. An old desire began to build in his chest, but instead of initiated something with him she backed away slightly, "If you hurt Ven or Ellana any further than you already have, there will be no place you can escape my wrath. I'm watching you."

And with a gust of wind she was gone. The Keeper of Clan Lavellan was a force to be reckoned with, no wonder the humans were afraid to climb the mountain they lived on and why none of his scouts had returned. She'd left him much to think about.

Solas wasn't sure how much time had passed since he'd been injured, but when he began to wake he realized he was in a soft bed, the sheet were comfortably wrapped around him and there was a fire going close by. He could hear the scratching of a quill and Ellana's voice muttering ancient curses, that she'd no doubt learned from her mother. Ellana, the young woman, who he had just found out, was his daughter. His head throbbed in a dull steady beat, but as he tested his limbs for movement, besides being sore, everything was still attached to his body.

He shifted on the bed and opened his eyes, everything was extremely blurry at first but cleared quickly to see exposed beams and brickwork. He was in Ellana's room, no doubt in her bed. The quill had stopped moving, a chair had been pushed back, and frantic steps made their way towards him. He attempted to sit himself up, but his arms felt weak.

Two gentle hands helped him up, the familiar smell of roses filled his nose. Ellana's face came into view seconds later, one that now that he was aware of it reminded him of his mother, and Solas saw tears gathering at the corner of her grey eyes, his eyes. "It's good to see you awake. I know you enjoy the fade, but spending nearly a week sleeping is bit much, even for you."

A week? Solas was honestly surprised he wasn't dead. Ellana brought a glass of water to his lips. He hadn't even realized how thirsty he was until the first swallow, but she pulled the glass away before the fourth. "You know in ancient times, I'd spend years sleeping. A week is nothing," he rasped, voice trembling slightly from its lack of use in the last week.

A quiet laugh escaped her lips at his weak attempt at humor, "Yes, but sleep is one thing, unconsciousness is another one entirely. We're back at Skyhold if you couldn't tell. I got us home in record time to make sure that we had all our healers looking at you. Ven even came in to help. From what I understand, he cleared your mind enough for someone to enter, our mother if I'm not mistaken."

They really shared everything with one another. "I had a rather enlightening conversation with her."

She glanced in his direction as she opened some drawers next to the bed and pulled out a small potion. "And what did my mother tell you?"

"She told me about your father," he replied, as he watched her hand stiffen slightly.

"And what did she tell you about him. She'd been talking to Ven about it right before he attempted to heal you head."

Ah, so she hadn't had the time to talk to her twin quite yet, but there was unmistakable mischief in her eyes. Solas sighed, "I feel like you know the answers I'm about to give you, _da'len_. The better question is, how long have you known the identity of your father?" He motioned for the water once more.

She rolled her eyes fondly, and gently handed Solas the glass. He carefully brought it to his mouth. "I figured you were _Fen'harel_ almost immediately. My brother and mother got in contact with me warning me that the Dread Wolf was active once more and then they saw the mark on my hand. My mother never mentioned anything about you being our father, but she used to tell stories about his various misadventures. When I saw the wolf jawbone I began to wonder. Mother has the other half in a chest back with the clan. I finally decided that you were our father when you were next to Ven for the first time. It was hard not to notice that without hair, Ven looks almost identical to you. It would also explain why my mother called Ven and I "the dread twins" growing up." Solas nearly choked.

"She really called you that?"

"Not to our faces, of course, but to close friends it was a really funny joke. At least I get it now."

"So, you didn't know I was your father right away?"

"No, I didn't. Did I suspect you of being the Dread Wolf? Yes. That much was obvious to me. There are only so many Ancient Elves that can use magic like you do. Did I suspect that you were my father until very recently? No. Ven knew. He's known for weeks. Mother told him back in the clan," she replied, fingers clenching in her lap.

"Are you ashamed of who your father is?" He dreaded her answer. He hated himself more than anything, but to hear it from his own child would…it would destroy him.

She shook her head, "No. I know the People's true history. I know you did what you had to do. Do I approve of how you did it? No. Do I approve of you attempting to tear down the veil? Absolutely not. Do I want to have to kill my own father to save Thedas? No, but I will."

Her hand reached for his neck.

Solas woke up with start, a blanket tumbled off his shoulders and pooled around his waist. His eye darted around a darkened room searching for an attacker. As his eyes adjusted he realized that he had fallen asleep in the rotunda. The fade had not been kind to him the past few days. He had confronted Ellana, but she had been called away before she could answer the last question and it had been haunting him.

He heard movement from his desk and jumped back when Ellana materialized, sitting on the desk, clad in a dressing robe, her hair down and mused as if she had just woken up from sleep. "Ven mentioned that you were having a rather vocal nightmare. Figured I would make sure you weren't being devoured by demons or your own conscious, whatever comes first."

Solas gripped the blanket, formulating a response through his sleep-addled thoughts, but she put a hand up to stop him from talking.

"Solas, I hope you know that I don't hate you and neither does Ven, though he'll never admit it. I just hope that you realize that if you attempt to do what I think you're going to do when you get the orb back, I'm going to have to come after you, so will mother and Ven."

He swallowed. "Ellana-"

"Your greatest fear is dying alone, yet here you have children and a woman, who despite everything, has stayed faithful to you for millennia and you want to throw it all away. You haven't lived in the world long enough to understand it or cherish what it has to offer," she told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze, making him feel far younger than he should. He was the adult here, damn it.

"There's so much you don't know. Why accept me?"

She gave him a sad smile. "Every child wants to know their father," she replied before giving his forehead a brief kiss, "now go to bed. I don't need a cranky fade expert when dealing with Morrigan tomorrow."

Solas groaned and almost wished Ellana had killed him because that woman was going to drive him to murder. He heard a brief chuckle before the door to the rotunda lightly closed and Solas was left alone once more.

Ellana changed everything by just existing. Could he really go through with tearing down the veil and endangering the lives of his _children_?

 **Bam.**

 **How many of you saw that one coming? I don't even know why this idea popped in my head in my lost recent DA:I playthrough. I was like, "what if the Inquisitor was related to him?" I think I was also reading a lot of fics with the Elven Inquisitor being male and Solas treating him like a son and then things just spiraled out of control for there.**

 **There were a few close guesses to what I was planning, and originally, they were supposed to be his grandkids (you would have gotten it right!), but there were too many moving parts and plot issues with that, so I nixed that idea in August and changed around some characters. I'm nearly positive that I promised that Solas was going to have a romance with a Lavellan in an early chapter author's note when there was some concern over it.**

 **I feel like I delivered. XD**

 **Thank you for all the reviews this past week! I'd love to hear your reactions to this twist.**

 **Have a lovely weekend,**

 **Animerocker**


	25. Chapter 25

**Here we go! One of my favorite chapters. =) Enjoy!**

Solas was nearly positive he was going to murder Morrigan before they reached the inner sanctum of Mythal's Temple. Her butchered understanding of Elven history rivaled that of the most remote Dalish clans and her swift dismissal of both Ellana's input and his own on matters she didn't understand was simply infuriating. This was a Temple that held ties to both Solas and Ellana in a way that Morrigan would never be able to comprehend. Solas had an inkling that Ellana knew exactly where the Temple was located in the Arbor Wilds and what was held deep within its walls. She had been sharing stories about the fabled temple her around the campfires as they traveled all week. They were too accurate for mere coincidence.

The temple itself was nothing like Solas remembered, but at the same time strikingly similar in its somber atmosphere. It was a mere echo of what it once was, but the magic and the beauty was still there. Solas wished he could guide Ellana through this place and explain the meanings behind its history, but now was not the time and with the witch attempting to access the Well of Sorrows they were going to need to tread carefully. While she was ignorant of Elven culture she wasn't a fool by any means and underestimating her would be costly.

That is, if Ellana doesn't gut her for mocking her Dalish heritage.

Morrigan's more scathing comments started the moment the group entered the Temple and encountered a message for worshipers. Solas had no trouble reading it and watched as Ellana's eyes took in the writing. She brought her fingers up to spiraling branches on her cheeks for a moment before locking eyes with Solas. She knew what the message said.

They were about to start to embark on the path to the Well of Sorrows. "I can't make out much," Morrigan muttered as she butchered different Elven words attempting to make meaning out of them.

 _Shemlen._

"That much is apparent," Ellana sniped before making her way to the first puzzle within Mythal's Temple. Dorian snorted from behind him and Blackwall outright laughed. Solas smirked, just happy that Ellana wasn't letting this woman push her around.

It didn't seem that Morrigan appreciated the jab at her Elven literacy. "But, child, you come from a Dalish clan. You're a hunter, are you not? What would you know of reading in general, nevertheless, Elven language?"

Solas actually had to physically stop Ellana from lunging at her. It was a close call, her fingers were a hand's length from Morrigan's throat. "Morrigan, Ellana spends a large portion of her time reading and writing reports. She also spends a good amount of her time killing people. I wouldn't suggest provoking her," Dorian warned, attempting to keep the peace, which was good because Solas was a hair's breath away from letting their fearless leader rip this woman's head clean off.

Dorian's words did nothing to cool Ellana's temper as she stalked through the puzzles muttering curse upon curse in Elven. Solas was extremely glad that she wasn't a mage at the moment in time because she might have actually destroyed the temple in a fit of rage.

Though, it seemed that Samson was going to meet the rather gruesome end of Ellana's temper. Especially after he blew up part of the temple, much to Solas' horror. This was just another piece of sacred history that humans have soiled.

"Are we going to be hopping down that hole any time soon to follow them or are we going to mourn over the destruction of an abandoned temple?" Dorian questioned before Morrigan jumped in between the group and the short cut that Samson had just created.

"We need to stay on the petitioner's path. It will lead us directly to our destination."

Before Solas could even get another word out Ellana had brought her blade out and pointed it at Morrigan. "You want the Well, don't you? You don't even know what it does, nor its significance in my People's history!" She hissed, but Morrigan only gave her a condescending look before batting her blade away.

"I understood more of the tablet than I originally told you. It spoke of a boon with a terrible cost."

As if that was going to entice a child of Mythal. Ellana no doubt had an idea of the price one would pay at the end of this journey.

"Do you have any idea what this boon is and what it would cost to gain it?"

Or maybe she knew exactly what it would cost.

"No, but I'd be more than will to pay it."

Ellana scoffed. "Then you're a fool," she replied before turning back to the petitioner's path arms raised in exasperation, "Come on, we have more puzzles to solve. Might as well do this the proper way."

Solas let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He had been so worried that she would ignore the correct route through the temple. Myna held little love for her mother, Mythal, who had cast her aside for ruling over her people, a mother to all, not just her own. He had been worried that this was translated into disrespect with Ellana. He knew that Ellana held no love for her people's gods, correctly taught by her mother, but the Sentinels of this temple would be in their right to kill the group for not taking the petitioner's path. They were watching the group from every angle and it wasn't until they reached the anti-chamber that they finally came out of hiding.

The room had fallen into disrepair since he'd last been here. What had once been a room of worship was now covered in debris and fauna. The magic that had once made the room opulent was gone and time had slowly began destroying it.

"What did they use this room for?" Morrigan whispered, but it echoed through the room.

Solas bit his tongue to stop himself from speaking.

"We're being watched." Ellana warned as the sentinels came into view. They were unchanged since he'd last seen them. Their armor was the same and it made his chest ache with how dwindled they were in numbers.

"You are different from the other intruders," the leader began, his eyes lingered on Solas for a moment before settling on Ellana. His eyes widened, he recognized her features. It was something Solas had realized when he had the time to really observe her. She looked startlingly like Mythal, then again so did her mother, the delicate line of her nose to her aristocratic cheekbones, even her hair was of a similar color. There was no mistaking her for anyone else's descendent. It made it easier to mask her relation to him, at any rate. Imagine the Inquisition scandal.

Their leader seemed to rethink his next statement. "Two of you are of the People and have magic that is familiar. What connection do you have to the other intruders of this temple?"

Ellana thought over his words for a moment, more than likely thinking of an appropriate answer that would keep the group in the dark about their identities, why still conveying the gravity of the situation that they were in. " _They're part of a Tevinter cult that wants the Well of Sorrows. I'm here to stop them with any means necessary. Our history and magic must remain safe."_ Ellana replied in crisp Elven, making Solas grin and Morrigan scowl. No doubt the witch didn't understand every word Ellana had said, proving Morrigan's assumptions wrong about their dear Inquisitor.

The lead sentinel nodded, pleased with the response. Solas was a little surprised with the conviction she gave. She obviously didn't want Morrigan getting her hands on the Well. "Very well, my name is Abelas. We are sentinels charged with protecting this temple and its contents-"

"He speaks of The Well!" Morrigan whispered excitedly and Ellana gave her a tired glance. They weren't fools, they knew what he was talking about.

"The Well," Abelas continued glaring at Morrigan, "is not for you. It's not for anyone."

Ellana nodded. "Agreed, The Well is not something that should be tampered with, by any of us. We're just here to stop those that are destroying the temple," Ellana replied, eyeing Morrigan warily. Ellana knew the dangers The Well had. Solas wondered why she wasn't saying anything more on the matter.

Maybe it was the same reason he kept the information to himself? To make sure that the world never found out that there were ancient elves among them.

"Very well, I will have one of my sentinels guide you through. But the Well will not by despoiled, even if I need to destroy it myself," Abelas warned before leaving the room in a rather over dramatic fashion for Solas' taste.

"NO!" Morrigan shouted, transforming herself into a crow and flying off after Abelas.

"Foolish _shem,"_ Ellana hissed before motioning for the group to follow a sentinel beckoning them towards a newly opened door. The sentinel was constantly muttering in Elven. Some of the words were insults, but most of the perturbed half thoughts about escorting the Dread Wolf and a descendent of Mythal.

Ellana rolled her eyes at the woman and would occasionally cast Solas a tired, but amused look. Solas wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. They had easily deduced who Ellana was, not only to Mythal, but to him as well. Was it that his mark was making them assume they were related or did Ellana truly look like him? It was hard to tell and more than a little perturbing. No one else had put it together. Even Varric had no idea that Ellana was related to him and the dwarf knew everything.

It didn't take long for them to be led to Samson, who claimed he was going to be Corypheus' vessel.

Ellana looked completely flabbergasted. Solas couldn't quite believe how stupid these humans were. They knew nothing of what they were dealing with. "You know what's in that Well?"

Ellana gave him a blank look, before he replied, "Wisdom."

She snorted, drawing her blades. "That's what you think is in the Well? You master has left out a few details."

"You know nothing of what you speak! Prepare to die, Rabbit!"

"No, I think you should," she said holding out a rune stone that Ellana had mentioned she, Dagna and Cullen had been working on for weeks. It was supposed to render Samson's armor useless and when the red lyrium crystal went out and broke, it seemed that it had worked, somewhat. The Red Templar's still attacked, and Samson still managed to transform himself into more of a monster than he already was, but the battle was less intense.

Without the bulk of his armor Samson wasn't nearly as powerful. Solas and Dorian took to casting mines around his feet while Ellana launched herself onto him, stabbing in as many places as she could find. It was rather horrifyingly entertaining to watch.

An unholy screech echoed through the area when Samson began reverting back, it seemed that his lyrium armor wasn't as strong as he anticipated.

"Bastard is still alive…" Dorian muttered poking the man with the bottom of his staff.

"Well, we'll have someone take him to Skyhold for judgment-" she was cut off by Abelas rushing past them with Morrigan flying right behind him. The witch was going to get to the Well. Abelas manipulated the fade to craft stairs for himself, a feat that Solas had yet to see in the waking world.

How had they beaten them here?

Though that didn't deter Morrigan. Dorian whistled appreciatively at the displays of magic. Ellana wasted no time and moved with years of practiced speed and grace up the fade stone. Solas rushed to follow, Dorian and Blackwall on his heels.

It seemed that Morrigan was going to be the one to reach the Well first, until the Eluvian activated from the other side.

Solas' heart nearly stopped. There weren't many people during his time that knew how to open that particular Eluvian. Now, there were only maybe one or two at most that had access. He worried who would come out the other side. Before he had time to react the surface of the mirror rippled and a net of electricity shot out, covering the Witch, her bird form pinned to the ground. Moments later a staff peeked through the mirror followed by Ven, who looked tired and harried, and a slightly older looking Elven woman that for a brief moment Solas didn't recognize, but then she turned to face him, and he knew who it was.

"Myna." Solas breathed, eyes not believing what he was seeing. She looked like she had maybe aged two years or so since he'd last seen her physically, and she'd been awake for nearly two and a half decades. Her blonde hair was done in one long braid, much like her daughter, her staff was of ancient design crafted by June himself. Her robes weren't the same, but of similar design. Her blue eyes were alight was with furry.

Why was she here? Solas had been under the impression that she was protecting her clan from raiders.

"Ven?" Both Dorian and Ellana say seeing the wild First of Clan Lavellan twirling his staff about. The group of four quickly make their way to the edge of the Well. Abelas and Myna were quietly talking to one another their hands moving rather widely as they motioned to Morrigan, then the group and finally to the Templars.

Morrigan attempted to change herself back, but was shocked by the net in the process.

"Stay down, witch," Myna snapped, watching the far door. Solas had missed her voice. He had missed his friend and closest confidant.

"We don't have much time. Just do what you need to do," Abelas finally said in common and loud enough for them all to understand.

"Just keep an eye on the witch and I'll remove the Well from the vicinity."

"No!" Morrigan shouted, changing back, but still trapped under the net. "If you destroy it we'll never be able to defeat Corypheus."

"This knowledge was never meant for you. If you wish to know a way to defeat this mad magister. Abelas and I will teach you, but the Well must never be allowed to fall into the hands of _Shemlen,_ " she responded, bringing her staff down to give the witch another good shock that had her writhing in pain.

"What consequences could this Well possibly have? Mythal, if she ever existed, is dead. There's nothing to fear," Morrigan forced out through gritted teeth.

"Child, Mythal lives and so do her children-"

"Yes, yes, her spirit lives on in the Elven people."

This time it was Abelas that answered. "No, witch, she means her words literally. Myna, get on with the ritual."

Myna nodded, walking over to the Well, giving herself a shallow cut and dropping her blood into the water. Solas raised an eyebrow at the use of blood magic, but then again, Myna was related to Mythal. If anyone could move her Well somewhere else, it would be her own kin.

The pool turned black for a moment before disappearing into nothing with only a whisper of broken Elven carried on the breeze.

"It's done. Abelas, take your warriors from the temple. My contact will meet with you once you leave the temple grounds. There are more People like us," Myna motioned to the four elves around him, "outside of the temple walls."

He nodded, "Thank you for saving the Well. Mythal would be proud of you, Myna."

Her lip curled in disgust. "Don't remind me."

The Sentinel gave a small smile. "Your enemy approaches. I suggest you take your leave," he warned before vanishing.

None of them needed to be told twice as they rushed towards the Eluvian, Ven towing both Morrigan and Sampson in fade crafted nets behind him. They closed the connection to the mirror just before Corypheus burst into the room.

Solas wished he could see the look of rage on the twisted Magister's face when he realized that he had not only lost the Well and the Eluvian, but his lead general as well.

This was a great victory for the Inquisition, though Morrigan looked like the world had ended.

"We just lost our only way to beat Corypheus because you elves were too afraid to use something you thought your goddess had touched!" She snapped, struggling in the net once more.

"You were going to enslave yourself to Mythal's will. It is not a price one pays lightly. When I said that Mythal is still alive, I mean that she is. Her spirit is still present, and she would have called for you. I saved your life, child."

"How would you even know that?"

"I did research, you blasted fool. I have actual Elven connections that I was able to call upon to see what was in that Temple. I just saved all of your lives." Myna growled leading them through the crossroads with practiced ease. She was lucky that the human members of the inner circle were too distracted dealing with their prisoners and the looking at the fractured beauty of the area around them, that they never noticed their guide knew her way around a little bit too well.

"Will you be staying at Skyhold or keep moving?" Ellana eventually asked when they reached their intended Eluvian.

Myna sighed. "I will be staying for a night or two. I have some business that needs settling," she replied, looking pointedly at Solas, who had a foreboding feeling that he wasn't going to like the conversation they were going to have.

Ellana rolled her eyes. "Alright. Just don't break anything."

 **I never liked how in the game, when you're playing as Lavellan, they doesn't just put Morrigan in her place as she is explaining Elven lore to you. It's just..."do you not see the markings on my face, girl, I'm Dalish, I know all this shit." So, I had my Inquisitor not put up with her, at all. Ellana is also a bit more, informed of an Inquisitor than cannon Lavellan, but regardless the Arbor Wilds frustrated me.**

 **So, enough about that, fun chapter right? I felt Ellana's true sass really shined here.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews this week! They made me smile. I'm glad that you all enjoyed my plot twist.**

 **See you next week,**

 **Animerocker**


	26. Chapter 26

**Happy Friday! Enjoy the chapter!**

Once the group had arrived back with the walls of Skyhold everything seemed to take a turn for the chaotic. Ellana had to deal with Morrigan, who she had given to her Spymaster for the time being and with Sampson, who was carted off to the dungeons till further notice. Ellana wanted to wait till The Commander made it back to Skyhold to hold a trial. He didn't have the luxury of traveling through an Eluvian, cutting the two-week trip into a thirty-five-minute walk.

The Ambassador whisked Ellana, Ven and Myna out of the room and into her private chambers. It wasn't every day that the Inquisitor's family comes to visit. Apparently, the Antivian was insulted that Ellana didn't tell her that her mother was coming in advance, not like she knew either, but it was the principle of the matter, or so he had been told. Solas had caught the Spymaster watching him from the third floor more than once. She was more than likely hoping that someone would visit him, if only to supply her some much craved gossip about his relationship with Myna, since he seemed familiar with her.

Solas was slightly concerned that he could actually be the cause of the gossip at Skyhold. He had avoided that for the most part during the entire campaign against Corypheus. Myna was not one to let things go, by any means and Solas knew he was going to be cornered by her sooner or later.

He was in the middle of sketching his newest frescos when the door to the rotunda was opened with more care than he'd witnessed since his coming to Skyhold. There was still the telltale creak of the hinges, but there was no loud bang, but a soft click as the door slid shut. Myna was leaning against the door, her eyes roaming over Solas' still slightly hunched form. Out of all the habits that she kept from ancient times, staring at his rear seemed to stick with her. It seems some things never change.

"Ellana mentioned that her room will be empty for the next hour or so. She said something about making up for the privacy your space lacks," she said as her voice echoed slightly within the rotunda. Her eyes traveled to the crows above.

Solas couldn't agree more and quickly followed her out of the room, closing his sketchpad before leaving. He felt that he would never get all of the frescos done before the fall of Corypheus and his inevitable departure.

Varric whistled with a rather inappropriate wiggle of his eyebrow when he saw Solas following Myna towards Ellana's room. The dwarf was no doubt going to create rumors about this before the two of them would even make their way back down the stairs. Myna pointedly ignored the stares and pushed forward.

It wasn't long before they reached Ellana's room. It felt odd seeing Myna in the flesh. She still didn't feel real. She didn't look like a Dalish Keeper. She had no staff, nor robes on at the moment. Myna was dressed in something very similar to Ellana's assassin's gear rather than anything a modern mage would wear. It seemed that something things would never change with her.

Solas closed the door with an audible thud, leaning against it, at least they were given a small bit of privacy. By the time he'd turned around a loud crack sounds and it took a moment for Solas to realize that Myna had slapped him, hard, across the face. The sting was the first thing he registered. Did she use magic?

"You have a lot of explaining to do, _Solas,"_ Myna hisses her eyes narrowed, hand held inches away from his face, the tips of her fingers sparking with electricity. It had been a long time since he had been hit like that.

Solas wasn't quite sure what exactly she wanted him to say. He had fucked up, he knew that, but he also knew that he wanted to fix his mistakes and that would no doubt make her even more furious at him, if that was even possible at that point.

Myna pinched her nose, looking quite a bit like Ellana. How had he not recognized her mannerisms till this point? They were so similar…it was eerie.

" _Solas_ , please explain to me why my children are discussing amputating your anchor with the little dwarf in the Undercroft?"

Solas physically recoiled. This was news to him and Myna's eyes softened a little bit when she noticed the genuine surprise on his face. "They're talking about doing _what?_ "

She seemed to calm for a moment, knowing that he wasn't the person that put that idea in their children's heads. "The mark is killing her, as you well know, and since no one has found a way to remove the mark out safely, Ven apparently came up with the genius idea of cutting the damn thing off. It has only infected a small part of her left arm at this point, but the only possible solution that they have come up with amputation. Surely, there has to be another way to remove the mark, your mark…" she reminded him, and she didn't have to. Solas knew very well that his magic was slowly killing his own daughter.

Solas' mind was reeling, while he hadn't been focusing on the removal of the anchor for some time and that guiltily ate at him. There had to be another way to safely remove the mark. He had some loose theories, most revolving around his stolen orb, which he was still attempting to retrieve.

Why had Ven not spoken to him about his research? "Theoretically, there should be another way to get rid of it. I've seen Ven manipulate and drain the mark through their bond and Ellana has remarkable control over the mark for someone with no direct connection to the fade. The two of them jumped to a rather dramatic solution."

Myna sighed, a wry smile on her face as she thinks of the twins. "They're your children as well as mine. Did you expect anything less, but theatrics? Instead of speaking to your three generals, you erected the veil and when they can't find a solution between the two of them they decide to cut off her arm."

"You're positive that they're mine?"

She gave him a glare that made him squirm.

"You were the only person I slept with before you erected the veil and put us in a forced slumber. I took the twins as a rather…bitter parting gift from you, since I thought you had died using all your power to create a better world."

Solas felt his face heat up as he recalled the night before he created the veil. They had been flirting for nearly a century with one another and the tension built until they both succumb to an extremely passionate night together. There was so much time that separated Myna and him now. It was obvious that she suffered and he was the root of a lot of her current problems. "Myna, I had no idea-"

She leaned against the wall next to the door. They hadn't really moved much from the entryway. "Would you have changed your plans? Have you changed any of your plans since you've found out about the twins being yours? Is destroying the world again really worth losing everything, again? Do you really want to die alone?"

He flinched. It seemed either Ellana or Ven had shared that little tidbit of knowledge with their mother. Then again, Myna had always known of his fears and insecurities, as his Spymaster she needed to hide all of them from the public and burry them, but she had never feared bringing them up in front of him. She was fearless, and it was something that had always drawn him to her. She had been a flame in the darkness of Arlathan.

Ellana having the anchor had been the catalyst to start his self-doubt, that his plan may truly be flawed, but the more he got to know her and then Ven the more real this world became. Everything was truly different. "I don't want Ellana to be harmed, but this world is…a shadow of what it was."

Myna rolled her eyes, arms crossed. The breeze from mountains came into the room and caused her to shiver. "Yes, because our world was so much better ravaged by the Forgotten ones as well as the Pantheon who were at constant war with each other and had the majority of the world enslaved to their will."

"But our magic-"

"Is still strong, ridiculously so compared to humans and city elves. Honestly, it's far more controlled this way. We can no longer shape reality to our will, but what did we do to the world but destroy it?"

She was right, but how could she not see what was missing from Thedas? How can she not want to change their People? How can she not miss all the history that was erased and lost to time?

"Our People are dying, Myna. Something needs to be done," Solas replied helplessly and Myna sighed, shoulder's slumping.

"I know, Solas, but causing another war and mass genocide isn't going to solve anything. There are greater issues plaguing Thedas right now. Your generals have been plotting a lovely bit of revenge in your steed against those that helped in our People's downfall."

Solas lifted an eyebrow and leaned forward, hands behind his back, a pose that she was very familiar with. The Dread Wolf was out to play. "Have you now? What, pray tell, have you been planning?"

Myna's grin was positively feral, and a small tingle went up Solas' spine. "We've been planning the downfall of Qunari as well as the Imperium. It's something _Fen'harel_ would have been proud of, killing two birds with one stone."

"What about the Chantry?" Solas questioned. He loathed Andrastians and the way that they treated magic, his people and their constant need to try to convert Ellana despite her vehemence against it.

Myna waved a dismissive hand. "They're destroying themselves and with Ellana at the helm to choose the next Divine she can bring the entire institution crumbling down."

"You do realize that she wouldn't intentionally destroy something her friend's hold dear, right?" Solas asked with a wry smile.

His Spymaster gave him a withering look. She knew her own daughter and Solas belatedly realized he might have hit a nerve. "I'm aware, but with Madam de Fer getting nowhere near the title and her Seeker friend being left to rebuild her institution, this leaves her Spymaster as the only choice. The woman is bloodthirsty, cares for mages' equality, and won't push to rebuild those blasted circles. She the worst choice for the Chantry, but the best for us."

"How did you manage to get all this information?" Myna hadn't been around long enough to get all of this from Ellana and not many knew who Ellana had advised to take the position of Divine.

"You're not the only one with spies in the Inquisition, _vhenan_." She replied with a smirk, before she grimaced, realizing her mistake. Solas felt his blood run colder than the mountain air.

They had been avoiding this…the two of them had been close, very close and it had felt like old times, if only for a moment. Neither made eye contact, they each picked a window to stare out of, letting the tension in the air dissipate.

Solas wasn't sure if he truly minded if she slipped. It meant that even after everything that happened, she didn't hate him, not completely. "We should probably discuss-"

"Solas, there's nearly twenty-five years that you've been absent for. When I woke up, you were gone. I nearly lost the twins more than once before they were born. They were conceived before the veil, but born without it, leaving them in a very dangerous spot. Once they were born, Ven hiccupped fireballs and sneezed ice when he was four months old. Ellana learned to disappear perfectly at two and I did all of that alone, without you, because you decided to run off and erect the veil on your own. For you, the relationship we had is only a year or so old. For me, it's a decades old wound that is being reopened. I never thought that my children would meet their father, nor did I imagine that you'd work for your daughter. Ven claimed that once she knew of your identity she found the entire situation rather funny."

"She has her mother's intelligence and grace on the battlefield."

"I'm aware, I thought her how to fight. And she has her father's ability to talk herself out of any situation. I never knew a silver tongue was hereditary."

Suddenly, Solas was engulfed in a tight embrace, familiar, yet foreign. "You're a bastard and I should hate you for not being there, but you stopped the Pantheon and the Forgotten Ones from destroying everything. I may have woken up in a world that lacked magic seeping out of ever crevasse, but I found a world in one piece, where not every elf was enslaved to a self-proclaimed god. Not everything has been lost, Solas. The Dalish need to be taught the correct ways of our People, but that can happen when I get enough Ancients into enough clans to take over the positions of Firsts and Keepers. It is happening, but it is happening slowly. Be patient."

They stood in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the brief nonviolent nature of their contact before Myna pulled back, a sheepish grin on her face. Solas turned away to give her a moment to right herself.

"Did Ven really sneeze ice?"

"Oh, don't even get me started on the trouble that boy caused. Ellana may have liked disappearing, but she'd never be far from her brother, so she never went far. But, Ven was a mess of child. The sheer amount of fires he caused gave the Keeper before me enough stress to cause all of her grey hairs."

"Are you upset that he's seeing a Tevinter Altus?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is he now…that's news to me. Lira is going to be mad at him for not telling her."

"His bond mate?"

Myna snorted. "Hardly, she's his four-year-old daughter. His bond mate died shortly after the birth, the poor woman had always been sickly, but Ven loved her. He was inconsolable for weeks, they'd known each other since they were children. He does his best raising her, but he is the First to the clan and has quite a few responsibilities. Ellana has been taking care of her, as has Fenris since he joined the clan. I'd have thought that he'd be awful with children, but he isn't completely incompetent. He's actually rather protective and sweet when no one is watching."

Solas couldn't quite picture Ven, the wild and daring Dalish First, to be a father. He just didn't seem to be the type to settle down. Solas honestly couldn't imagine Fenris speaking with a child, nevertheless taking care of one. "You let Fenris near your granddaughter?"

Myna crossed her arms. "Fenris, despite his many flaws, is trusted by my clan. He saved Ellana more than once and stopped a bandit from severing my legs. He's extremely loyal and even if he's a bit…nervous…around magic, he has never lashed out at the clan."

"But you do realize who he is descended from, who he has to be descended from for him to have survived getting those markings?"

"I'm more than aware, but I don't judge a man on who is father was. You are aware that all three of your generals were closely related to those of the Pantheon, and yet you trusted us. Trust our judgment for once in your damn life, Solas."

He slumped against the wall. Trust was not something he did easily. The court in ancient Arlathan destroyed that ages ago, but maybe in this new world he could begin to do that again.

"Are we going to talk to Ven and Ellana about possible alternatives besides amputation?"  
She shrugged. "You're her fade expert and I'm their mother. Between the two of us we're bound to talk some sense into them. I've already told her that I'd find a way to get it off without the loss of her left arm. Ven doesn't believe that there is a way to remove it."

Solas wrung his hands out behind his back nervously. "This all rests in me getting my foci back."

Her gold eyes swiveled back towards him, her thoughts away from her children once more. "You never answered me. Are you going to attempt to bring the fade down, and wake the "gods" again? Are you going to destroy the world for a second time to heal your wounded pride?"

Solas let out a sigh and leaned his head against the door. He wasn't going to leave this room without giving her the answer she wanted. If he agreed to her terms, everything would change, and nothing would be fixed, but if he disagreed there was a chance that Myna would kill him here and now. She was like Mythal in that way, ruthless when something of hers was threatened.

"It wouldn't seem logical to bring it down at this point in time, no," he eventually replied, and she genuinely smiled at him for the first time. He felt sick to his stomach knowing that this could change at any time.

She embraced him quickly one last time before pulling away. "Then get your spies off my mountain and maybe we can begin to work together. You've been asleep a very long time and there are some things that you need to be taught."

It would figure that she'd want to teach him something. She had always been his student in the past. "You're going to enjoy teaching me for once, aren't you?"

"Oh, you're going to be miserable."

 **This is the 3rd to last chapter of the story! =O I just realized that this is all coming to a swift close. I ironically, don't have the last two chapter written completely yet. I wasn't sure where I wanted to end it. Still not sure. Debating on what I want Solas to actually do and how I want Ellana to retaliate. I have them both partly written out...so there's that.**

 **Anyway, you guys are super lucky that I'm updating today. I've been feel like trash today and yesterday, so editing this was a lot more difficult than usual. My boss passed on his illness to me. The poor guy has been hacking a lug up all week and was sharing his germs with everyone. So, here I am, with a small fever gearing up for my 6am wake up call in the morning. Bleh.**

 **Thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited and followed! You guys got this chapter posted this week. Hopefully you all will inspire the last two chapters for me as well.**

 **~Animerocker**


	27. Chapter 27

**Happy Friday! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

With preparations started to take on Corypheus in motion there wasn't much left for Solas to do, but wait for the battle to begin. He honestly wasn't sure that Ellana was even going to invite him to fight with her. Things had been tense between him and the woman he had only recently realized was his daughter. Myna had forced all of them to sit down and have a chat over the different ways to remove the anchor, scolding the two of them for even thinking of cutting Ellana's arm off. Neither Ven nor Ellana thought that Solas should have been there while their mother chastised them. Ven outright left claiming that he wasn't going to have Solas play parent when he caused this mess in the first place. Ellana had remained stoically silent, but made no move to acknowledge anything either of them said.

Ellana had made no move since to interact with Solas. Though, it more than likely had to do with the fact that she spent all her time with her advisors planning the final strike against an evil Tevinter Magister. Ellana didn't have time to speak with Solas or anyone outside the War Room.

Fenris even seemed to be at a loss of what to do with their irate Inquisitor. He seemed to settle for dinners with her in the great hall where she'd fall asleep on his shoulder.

Ellana spent nearly all her time with her Advisors and then after they'd leave her mother would pull her aside and speak with her for hours. Myna had been teaching Morrigan how to transform herself into a dragon. The woman was hellbent on learning what she could to assist the Inquisition, it was her formal punishment for attempting to betray them by stealing the power of the well for herself. Myna was more than happy to teach Morrigan until she collapsed, each and everyday.

That was the only thing that really brought a smile to Ellana's face these days was hearing about how miserable the witch was at any time. Though, Ellana was always kind to Morrigan's son. She had a soft spot for children and always gave him a sweet from the kitchen when she passed by the gardens. It wasn't until late in the evening a few days before their final battle was Solas shaken awake by Myna, who looked like she had just woken up herself.

" _Solas, get out of the fade and wake up,"_ she grumbled in Elven her long hair disheveled, the top button of her armor undone.

"What is it?" Solas asked he pulled himself up, reaching for his shirt. He noticed Myna pointedly avoiding looking at him before answering.

"The witch's son wandered into an Eluvian and the woman foolishly ran in after him. Ellana wants our help looking for the both of them. I could feel foreign magic in the air around the boy's room. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was my mother's. I just hope that I'm wrong, otherwise, we could be falling prey to one of her many traps," she replied as he got the last of him armor on and slung his staff over his shoulder.

It felt odd, going into battle with Myna again. They had been kept separate for the past few weeks. He knew that Ellana was worried that they would fight and, in the process, level Skyhold. Solas thought that she was worrying for nothing, but with the barely controlled magic rolling off of Myna at the moment, maybe Ellana's concern wasn't as misplaced as Solas had originally thought.

"Are you positive that it was Mythal?"

The glare that was sent his way was enough to stop him from asking a follow up question. There was no way that she would forget her mother's magic.

The two made their way through Skyhold quickly, only stopping when Ven jogged over to them, ready for battle, his eyes alight at the thought of a battle to come.

Ellana met with the three of them in room with the Eluvian. The Spymaster was there, explaining the situation to Ellana as best she could. "I'm going to bring both of them back, Leliana. I have two experts at Elven lore and the fade." The Spymaster nodded as the four of them stepped through the Eluvian and into the world that Kieran had opened.

It figured that it would be the fade.

" _And we're in the fade…again. Bloody-fuck-shit. There better not be any fear demons roaming around_ ," Ellana swore, kicking a rock halfway across a floating pond. The way she easily slipped into Elven brought a small smile to Solas' face. It seemed that when she was with her family, common tongue wasn't her first choice. It's no wonder her voice had such an odd lilt to it if it hadn't been her first language to begin with.

" _Oh, come on. This is fascinating! How often can someone saw that they've physically been in the fade? This is what, your third time? Sister, you can't really be upset about this_!" Ven said with a dramatic roll of his eyes as he took in the sights before him. Ven seemed to be taking this in stride and Solas admired his sense of adventure.

Myna snapped her fingers between the twins, causing them to separate and stop bickering. " _That's enough. I'll track the child down. He couldn't have wandered too far…make sure that nothing disturbs my casting,"_ Myna told them before she closed her eyes and began to concentrate her magic. She had only just begun the ritual when Morrigan came sprinting down the horizon, her eyes wild, magic sparking on her finger tips. She looked harried and worried, emotions that Solas wasn't used to seeing on the woman's face. It was one of the first times that he had seen her express any kind of emotion, save arrogance.

When she saw the four of them, she stopped, taking in their appearance and continued to advance on them, albeit, in a less threatening manner. Morrigan's magic seemed to have calmed some. She seemed almost hopeful when her eyes landed on Ellana and the glowing make on her hand.

 _"_ What are you doing here?" Morrigan asked, directing the question at Ellana and ignoring the rest of her rescue party.

Ellana straightened, her hand moving away from her daggers. "Leliana told me that your son had gone missing. I'm here to help find him with some experts on fade magic and lore."

The witch looked like she had swallowed something foul when her eyes landed on Myna. His old Spymaster had gained yet another enemy with her infamous charms. How she had lasted so long in court was beyond Solas. Though, the witch didn't seem all that pleased to see any of them, save for Ellana.

Morrigan glanced over towards Myna who had her eyes closed as she chanted in Elven so old, Morrigan had no hope of recognizing it. The ritual that Myna was using was ancient, even by Solas' standards. It was one that took nearly a hundred years to learn, but only took a few minutes to cast. There were nuisances to it, that, if done incorrectly, could level entire cities.

It was a tracking spell, one that can only be learned by certain bloodlines of the Pantheon and it can only be used on magical beings. The spell was extremely specific, but very helpful in locating wayward children or, in the Pantheon's case, call back salves or family members that had disobeyed them and give out punishments for their defiance.

"What is she doing, Inquisitor?"

Ellana bit her lip, obviously thinking over her response. Would she tell that Witch the truth or a boldface lie? Did Ellana even know the spell that her mother was using? "It's a tracking spell. We're here to find your son. We're in the fade, so he could literally be anywhere. With this we'll be able to find him quickly."

"I've never heard of a spell that could do that…"

No, she wouldn't have, not without discussing it with a fade spirit old enough to recognize Solas and Myna for who they truly were.

Myna's eyes opened, and a bright flash of grey passed through the area, blinding them for a moment before she pointed to the east. "He's over the ridge and from what I can tell unharmed, but he isn't alone."

Morrigan sagged in relief and Ellana pulled out her daggers just in case there was any altercations on their way through the fade to save the witch's child. With Myna's guidance it didn't take long to find Kieran, but it was the woman that he was standing next to that had Solas stagger back slightly.

Mythal.

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger. I didn't actually get to finish editing this chapter, so the other 3000 words that are a part of this scene will be next week's chapter. I got my eyes dilated yesterday and, despite being told it would go away, left my eyes hurting and unfocused all day long. Then again, I've never had good reactions to getting my eyes dilated, so it might just be my eyes that have that kind of reaction.**

 **Anyway, what do you all think is going to happen next? I have it all written out, but oh boy, does it need to be edited and hammered out more. It's a mess that is going to need to be changed up big time.** **You know, I still haven't written an ending for this story. I'm playing with two different ideas, and I'm not sure of a certain character's fate at the end of the story. There are two ways it could go and I'm not sure whether I want you all to hate me or love me.**

 **Regardless, the big confrontation with Mythal is coming up. How will Solas react at seeing his thought to be dead friend using a human as a vessel for her soul?**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows this week, they mean a lot!**

 **See you all next Friday,**

 **Animerocker**


	28. Chapter 28

**Happy Friday! I hope you enjoy the chapter! =D**

She should have been dead. He could sense one of his oldest friend's soul lingering in the body of a human woman. Mythal should be dead…her death had sparked a war that ended their people. She had tricked him, tricked them all.

Solas felt betrayed and he flinched when Ellana's hand rested on his forearm to stop the tremors in his arm. He hadn't even realized that he had been shaking.

Mythal greeted Morrigan with as much care as one did a servant. She turned, her eyes, the same yellow he remembered, and her eyes widened slightly when she met his gaze. Though, when she took in the sight of Myna and her children her lip curled in disgust. Myna was always her least favorite biological child. There was a reason that Mythal had given her to the servant class, disowning her before she even reached her adolescence.

"Morrigan, I see that you have made some interesting friends…tell me, child, where did you find ancient elves in this day and age?"

The witch turned to the them, mouth agape. Solas noticed Myna's stiff posture, her hands clenching the staff she was holding. "It's nice to see you again, Mythal, I was under the impression that you had been murdered. Your death started an uprising that nearly destroyed the world. Or, like most of your schemes, it went horribly wrong?" Myna hissed, nearly taking a step forward, but Ellana shot an arm out to stop her.

"Mother, now is not the time," she said, turning to Mythal, her chin raised defiantly, "My name is Ellana of Clan Lavellan, we're only here for the boy. Give him back to his mother and there will be no violence."

Mythal chuckled looking Ellana over like a piece of meat, or a potential slave when her eyes landed on the _valislin_ on her face. Solas' magic sparked for a moment, his daughter was so slave. When Mythal noticed the anchor, she turned towards Solas and grinned, which had him wishing that he was anywhere but in fade.

"Don't posture to her, Inquisitor, this is what she does! She has children, so she can steal the youth from them to elongate her retched life! Now, she wants to do that to my Kieran!" Morrigan growled reaching towards her son, only to have a barrier come into place and separate them. It seemed that Mythal wasn't quite done playing with them yet.

"Never again shall we submit, Morrigan. I posture to no one. I just know when to ask nicely," Ellana replied and motioned for Ven to step forward. He twirled his staff around him, a grin on his face as he built up his magic. " _Now, either you give the boy back, or I will have my brother unleash a rather powerful attack on your shields."_

Mythal snorted, bringing the boy closer to herself as leverage. Ellana never flinched, " _He won't hurt the boy, just you_."

Morrigan jerked forward, as Ven's staff started to glow an eerie green, drawing the energy of the fade to himself. The witch looked horrified, her eyes going from Mythal to Ellana, hoping that one of them would change their minds. Solas had honestly never seen Ellana look so cold, even when facing the fear demon, she had considered the lives of all of her companions. There was a resolve present that he had never seen from her. It was calculated, and it reminded him of himself before he did something monumentally foolish.

Like erect the fade.

Mythal stared at Ellana, testing her resolve and something change, the once goddess' posture shifted. The boy once again moved to an arms width away. "So, you are one of my descendants after all. Myna, Morrigan, take note. You show no weakness and you show no fear in the face of adversity and you will be rewarded."

Morrigan snarled. "How dare you use my son against me! He is not a tool for your twisted game! Don't attempt to ruin him like you did me!"

Solas let out a quiet sigh. His friend had always been the mother to the Elven people, but she was awful parent to her own children. Mythal had always been too focused on the larger picture than she had been on those close to her. Solas had been one of the few people she considered a friend, and she had faked her own death, so he would start a rebellion that would end the world as they knew it. Mythal always had her own agenda.

What did she want with a child? He wasn't anywhere near old enough for her to want to steal his body. There had to be something else at play.

"And, yet, what was he created for? He was supposed to be your tool, no, daughter?"

All heads turned to Morrigan. What had the witch done to that child? From what he had seen of her with her son, she was nothing by kind and loving towards him.

Morrigan took a step back when Kieran looked towards them, shivering slightly with tears built up in his eyes. "That plan died the moment he was born. I will not be the mother you were to me. You have no claim over either of us."

There was a quiet hum in the air as magic swirled around Mythal. She tapped the boys chin, forcing him to look up. A ball of light was pulled from Kieran's chest and the child staggered back as if physically hit. "Be well child."

Solas recognized the light as a soul of an ancient. It had been trapped in that child? He turned to Myna, who looked grim, her mouth set in firm line. Had she known about this? Did she know that this boy had been carrying a soul from ancient times within him and not said anything?

Morrigan took this as her chance to grab her son. Ellana moved towards them and ushered Morrigan towards the exit. Solas could barely hear the conversation, just that "we will follow shortly."

" _This leaves you four. What would the Pantheon think of the little family that you built, Fen'Harel? I think they'd find it rather amusing, since your mark is killing your daughter and you plan to rip the world apart again."_

 _"You know nothing,"_ Solas replied.

" _I know more than you could possible imagine, Pride. Myna, what did you do with my well and its sentinels_?"

Her grin was positively feral, " _well, Mother, I moved it to a secure location. If you want to look for it, be my guest. I will not have any more Elven men and women be forced into your eternal service thinking that you are bestowing a gift to them. You were once great, but like all the other members of the Pantheon, you became corrupt. Solas always told me you were the best of them, but that wasn't saying much. As for your people, well, they will no longer be forced to do you bidding. I hope that soul you absorbed was worth it, because it's the last one that you'll ever get."_

Mythal lunged forward only to be met with solid barrier. It hadn't been cast by Myna, who took a careful step back from the glowing green barrier. Solas turned his attention to the twins. Ven had Ellana's anchor clad hand in his, sparks were flying out of the mark as the two created a something strong enough to repel an Ancient would be Goddess. Solas couldn't help but be impressed, if he didn't notice the sweat on Ellana's brow and her quaking knees. Ven looked strong, but he was holding his sister up. If this turned into an all-out attack, they could be injured. Or possessed by Mythal. They bore her marks on their faces.

If his old friend was going to attempt to hurt the only way for this world to be saved he was going to need to stop this madness. He knew that Myna wasn't going to stop. She had wanted her mother's head on a pike for as long as Solas could remember. Enough was enough and Solas called his power forward and blasted his old friend back.

She hadn't been expecting an attack from him and went flying to the left, skidding to a stop. It wasn't his strongest mind blast, but he was going to need to save his strength if Mythal truly wanted to fight.

" _So, this is the side you chose, Fen'Harel? My misfit daughter and her…offspring over your people. Your true calling? You were known as the god of rebellion. Why settle for something less_?" Mythal tempted, giving Myna a dismissive wave which sent her flying away from Solas and into wall. She had a barrier around her to protect herself from most of the blast's power and the impact into the rocks behind her. The reverberating thud that echoed was enough to make him flinch. Myna slumped onto the ground, unresponsive.

No one moved for a moment, the remaining four waiting for someone to make a move. Solas called Mythal's bluff and dashed towards Myna, keeping his eyes on his old friend. What lesson was she attempting to teach her daughter this time? He saw that Myna was bleeding sluggishly from her head, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

Mythal tutted, watching _Fen'Heral_ assist her daughter. _"And yet, here you are, my old friend, inhabiting the body of a human, doing nothing for the people you claimed to hold so dear,"_ Solas replied, his eyes glowing dangerously. She was stepping into dangerous territory. Myna had been his Spymaster and for a brief time, lover, he wasn't going to let Mythal hurt her just to make a point to him.

Mythal stepped forward, " _Done nothing? Oh, I've done more for the people than you can imagine. I've set things in motion that will shake the very foundations of this world, but then my grandchild changed everything."_

Solas had to agree with her. Ellana did change everything, as did Ven. She has him questioning all of his plans for the future.

Her gaze turned towards the children, more specifically to Ellana, who had no magical talent, but never flinched under the Ancient Goddess' glare. Ven's arm was around her shoulders, the protective brother till the end.

 _"What do you plan to do? You can't take on all of us at once,"_ Ven asked, his staff glowing once more, ready for another attack. Solas almost snorted. Mythal could kill them all right now if she truly wanted. He wasn't at his full power yet and, while Ven was powerful, he wasn't ready to fight one of the Pantheon. He would never be ready to fight them, his son just didn't have the experience.

 _"I need Nothing from you, Ven'irus. You are the expected result of your parents' offspring. Your sister just intrigues me, she is a true irony."_ Ven tightened his grip on his sister's arm and Solas could feel the pressure of both Ven's magic and Mythal's in the air, fighting for dominance. Ellana's fists tightened and she dug her heels into the ground, the mark flared to life _. "Born from two mages, one a god and the other a descendant of mine, and yet, she has no magic and a name as average as elfroot in the Hinterlands. Yet, she has charmed the shemlen into near worshiping her. A born leader. The ideal Elven Goddess, yet she has no magic_."

" _I don't need magic to unite nations. The Inquisition follows me because I fight for all nation's freedom from annihilation from insane Magister's plan. No, I've never had magic, Ven has more than enough for the two of us, but he can't lead a halla to water, nevertheless a nation. Magic, does not define me or the people of this world_." She held up the mark, it sparked for a moment before she brought it down in a quick arch. Solas had seen her do this once or twice before when he was taken on expeditions with her and summoned a barrier as pure fade energy was sent at Mythal, it send her flying further than his own mind blast. Ellana moved out from her brother's protective bubble.

Mythal was picking herself up from the ground, her golden eyes burning with a violent passion that he hadn't seen in her for thousands of years. Ellana seemed ready to strike the would-be goddess, her daggers out and ready for the next attack. But, the murderous glint vanished, and proud grin appeared on her face instead. " _You are a true child of Mythal. I wish you luck my child."_

And with those parting words, Mythal vanished. Solas heard Myna shift behind him. Her face had blood drying on it, but otherwise she appeared to be fine. _"Was there a reason that you didn't protect yourself?"_ Solas asked her as he helped her up.

She sent him her strongest glare, which wasn't amounting to much since she staggered to her feet and nearly fell into his arms. _"That tracking spell took a lot out of me. I didn't think that she was actually going to be there extracting the soul of an ancient from the child, nor did I expect her to attack me. My mother never cared for me, but I never thought she would attempt to kill me."_

 _"Time changes people…Mythal wasn't quite what I remember either,"_ Solas replied. Had her time spent incorporeal corrupted her spirit permanently?

 _"We better leave before she comes back,"_ Ellana called, halfway up the ridge that would lead towards their exit.

" _Well, that was a fun family outing. I vote that we stay in Skyhold for a nice private dinner next time_ ," Ven said, loud enough for all of them to hear as he caught up with his sister, throwing an arm around her shoulders without a care in the world.

" _He resisted her attacks with little effort. Ven is truly a powerful mage_ ," Myna muttered, her hand squeezed his for a moment before she straightened her back and started the walk back.

She was putting on a brave face. Mythal had always been a sore spot with her and meeting her mother like this had to have shaken her. Solas stopped her, grabbing her hand once more and pulling her towards him. " _Are you alright, Myna_?"

She must have heard the sincerity in his voice because she stopped fighting him. Her head thumped on his shoulder and she took a shuddering breath. " _Well, I might have cracked a rib or two when I hit the wall, my mother was trying to kill a child and then attempted to take Ellana with her to gods know where. So, no, I'm not alright, Solas, but I'll pretend to be until all of this Darkspawn Magister nonsense is over with."_

 _"It isn't going to end with Corypheus. The Qunari are moving_ ," he whispered into her ear and she shivered slightly, wrapping remaining arm around his neck.

 _"Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we, Fen'Harel,_ " she teased. He felt her hand stroke the back of his neck, nails almost biting into his skin.

It had been a very long time since Solas had been in a position like this. Myna's face close enough he could feel her breathing and he was sorely tempted to lean towards her. _"I suppose so. Do you have any plans in place?"_

She tilted her head ever so slightly, eyes slightly hooded. _"Wouldn't you like to know_ ," she replied closing the distance between them and all thoughts of battle strategy left Solas' mind.

 **FINALLY, WE HAVE ROMANCE! Right before the last chapter. Yep, the next chapter is going to be the last one for this story. It is going to include an epilogue and all that stuff.**

 **Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows this week!**

 **Have a great weekend,**

 **Animerocker**


	29. Chapter 29

**And here is the end, enjoy. =)**

Despite what happened in the fade, not much changed between Solas and Myna. They had kept each other at arm's length, using Corypheus as an excuse to avoid each other.

But, now, it was finally over.

The sky had been repaired for good this time. The once feared Magister was officially dead, sent to the fade permanently by Ellana. Solas hadn't been invited to fight in the final battle. Nor, did he know what happened to his orb, his precious foci hadn't been found at the final battle amongst the rubble, from what he had been told, but then again, reports were still coming in.

Ellana had decided to take Dorian, Cassandra and Sera with her. So, that left Solas the agony of watching the battle from afar, Myna next to him, crushing his hand with her ever increasing grip. He supposed this was Ellana's way to make sure he didn't leave after getting his hands back on the foci. It was obvious to him that his daughter didn't trust him, rightly so, she wasn't a fool. Myna trusted him even less, having a millennium of reasons to back her up.

Yet, there they were, worrying over the child they had accidently conceived together and Solas had no intention of leaving until he saw that Ellana was safe and sound. Even then, he wasn't sure if he would abandon his new-found family.

Myna had told him of the master plan she had come up with Lali and Audul. The three of them had been the most gifted generals he had ever come across and with their plan for the newest rise of the Elven people being put into motion. From what Solas had been told, the three of them had been collecting ancient elves and placing them in strategic positions of power all over Ferelden, Orlais, Dalish Clans and Alienages throughout Thedas. They were beginning to reeducate the People, they were helping them recapture their culture and bring back long forgotten arts. Clan Lavellan had always been considered odd amongst the Dalish as well as the two other clans surrounding them. Rebellions were brewing around Orlais and Ferelden, brought in the name of freedom. The name Fen'Harel had come up more than once.

The three clans that his generals were in charge of in the northern Free Marches seemed more like large towns, than destitute Dalish savages. They had a thriving culture around magic, a thriving population as well as impressive trade crafts. Myna, Lali and Audul were leading these clans and hoping that in time, others would follow. Myna had received reports that a few clans in the South of Dales had started to take up more Ancient practices.

Solas wasn't sure if his plan to destroy the world was that great of an idea. Releasing the gods of old would cause mayhem and more than likely end Thedas altogether.

"Was staying for this really that difficult?" Myna asked, watching the horizon where torch lights could be seen as well as Inquisition banners.

It wasn't too long until Ellana was spotted leading the group of weary battle trodden soldiers behind her. Cassandra was sporting a black eye, Dorian had his arm in a makeshift sling and Sera had a basic field dressing across her torso. Ellana had a cut above her left eye, but it wasn't something a quick trip to the healers wouldn't fix.

They all might have looked tired, but they were smiling, laughing and singing. Solas spotted Fenris make eye contact with his daughter and not a moment later the two rushed towards each other in what appeared to be a bone crushing embrace. There were some quick words in broken Elven and Tevene before she stood before the Inquisition, proud and unyielding.

"Corypheus is dead!"

The cheer that erupted from the crowd could more than likely been heard at the Winter Palace.

Myna released his hand and moved to embrace her daughter, healing her eye and whispering something into her ear. There was a brief smile and a nod of her head before the crowd whisked them away.

"Last one to the Great Hall has to clean the barracks!" A lieutenant shouted as the rush for the victory celebration began. Skyhold had never been so energetic before and while Solas could apricate a party, he found himself on the battlements. He needed to go to the battle ground to check for his foci. Even if he wasn't going to use it to destroy the veil, he was going to need it remove the mark from Ellana's hand, otherwise, she'd be dead within the next five years.

"You do know that there is a celebration going on inside?"

A familiar head of braided hair leaned up next to him. Ven had finally decided to speak to him, more than likely, he had been distracted by Dorian. "I'm aware. Though, if you've been paying attention these past few months. I'm not known as the social type," Solas replied smoothly, though his son only grinned.

"Yes, well, mother has some stories to the contrary, but she's too busy getting drunk to really care right now. Gods know she deserves some kind of break from worrying over everything. I also know that you've been contemplating leaving…" Solas raised a questioning eyebrow and Ven held up his hands, "Mom told me while she was drinking herself under the table."

Solas let out a long sigh, his breath visible, he shivered slightly as a breeze passed through. "Yes, well, I need to retrieve my foci. Your sister's life is still in danger. After that, it would be better for everyone if I just disappeared."

Ven snorted. "You're full of yourself, you know that? My mother would hunt you down till the day you died if you left again. She thinks that you could help her and Audul and Lali."

"But, my foci-"

"Has been found and is safely being kept away from prying eyes. Where do you think I was all day? Waiting for Dorian to come back? I'm not passive rabbit waiting for his master to return. I spent the day on the battlefield, weaving around that damn dragon and magister to keep that foci of yours from breaking," Ven snapped and honestly, Solas hadn't even been thinking about Ven's whereabouts. The Dalish First had been rather stationary these past few months, keeping to himself in the library with Dorian.

It took a moment to realize what Ven had said. He had found his foci? Solas pushed himself forward and grabbed Ven by his shoulders. How had he retrieved the orb without being noticed during the battle? Dorian would have no doubt made some kind of comment about his lover fighting by his side. Had Ellana even known about her brother's involvement?

"Where is it?"

Ven rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of Solas' grip. "It's safe. Mother and I had always planned to take the orb and hide it away from you. We quite like the way the world is now and with Ellana at the helm of this new era, well…there's a bright future for the People after all."

Solas felt a vein on his forehead begin to throb. While it was nice to know that both Myna and Ven were plotting the future downfall of mankind, hi sister was still in trouble. They still needed to think about Ellana, not just the bigger picture. "What about the anchor? It's still killing Ellana. We need the orb to fix that."

"There are still rifts that need to be closed across Thedas. Once those are sealed, then we'll give you back your orb and fix her hand. We don't trust you, _Fen'Harel_. You've already betrayed your People once. We haven't forgotten what your master plan cost us, and our trust isn't so easily won back," Ven warned, his eyes glowing an eerie grey before he turned to rejoin the party, a skip in his step as the door slammed shut behind him.

Solas, not for the first time, wonder how powerful his son truly was. He had seen Ven cast powerful spells, but he had always assumed that he drew more power through Ellana's mark. But, it was in moments like these when he was angry that Ven was truly frightening. In time, Solas hoped that he'd be able to call his own magic to the same frighteningly unnatural levels as his son.

Solas sighed, for now, he would stay at Skyhold, if only to try and finish up what he had started. This organization needed all the help that it could get. He had noticed spies slipping into the Inquisition. He was going to need to figure out which ones were Myna's spies and then start to purge the organization of any kind of impurities. The humans would look for any excuse to kill his daughter or to disband the Inquisition now that Corypheus was dead.

Well…Orlais more so than Ferelden, but they tended to always want to one up each other, and they were _shemlen_. An elf could never truly trust a _shem._

It was a week after the final attack that Lali and Audul arrived for a surprise visit with a few warriors from their clans and two bundles of something in their arms. The group had caused quite a stir climbing the mountain. Cullen had almost sent a small cluster of soldiers to attack the well-armed group of elves riding some of the best-bred harts that Solas had ever seen. Solas swore that Dennett was drooling at the mare that Lali was riding.

Commander Cullen had his troops surrounding the group of elves. It was obvious that the humans didn't trust the newest arrivals at Skyhold. It wasn't everyday that such a large group of well equip and seasoned Dalish Elves wandered into a well-known human stronghold.

These were his two war generals, one covered the navel fronts and the other all land operations when they had been at war millennia ago. Both were powerful mages, one the grandson of Dirthamen and the other was son of June. They had been well trusted amongst the court, but in the end, they had betrayed them all by helping the Dread Wolf.

They had reapplied their markings of their ancestors on their faces. Something that Solas thought that they would never stoop to doing. They had been two of the first he had ever removed. It hurt to see them standing around proudly wearing their salve markings again. Solas vaguely wondered how long it had taken for them to decide to reapply it. They had been so excited to be free.

The two of them looked nearly the same as Solas remembered, both broad shouldered elves with knack for getting themselves into trouble, but they were more mature now, maybe they didn't look older, but they carried themselves in a different way than they had back in Arlathan. Audul in particular seemed to hold his head higher than Solas remembered. Under that mop of fiery red hair was an elf made for leadership and he wore it well. Lali still had the same shit eating grin he always had, his dark hair shaved close to his scalp and his ear decorated with various different earrings. Solas wondered if Lali had been the one to give Ellana the earrings that she wore on a regular basis.

Ellana was in the center of the courtyard, her mother next to her speaking to the Commander in hushed tones. Solas could see his daughter making pointed and rather aggressive hand movements. He heard Lali bark a laugh and Myna sent the once general a withering look. A moment later the Commander raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and ran a nervous hand through his hair before motioning for his troops to leave them be.

Solas edged closer, staying out of immediate sight, but close enough that he could hear what was going on. He noticed that Sera was also watching the entire interaction from her room at the Tavern. For someone that claimed she didn't care about "elfy things" she rather seemed to enjoy listening to Ellana's family gossip.

"We come baring some very important packages that couldn't be left alone with the clan," Audul said just loud enough for Solas to hear. He turned his attention away from Sera and realized that both leaders had dismounted Myna had taken a step forward towards the other two Dalish Keepers.

Myna took one look inside each wrapped package and smacked them both on the arm with her staff. The two much larger elves winced. "Why did you bring them with you? You know how dangerous things are going to be around here!" She hissed causing her two friends backup, pulling the bundles closer to themselves and using them as shields from Myna's ire.

"Yes, and things are tense with the clans right now. There are _shemlen_ near the boarders. I didn't want the little ones in any kind of danger, not with their heritage. We couldn't risk that being lost. The other children have been moved as well while he prepare for attack. Luckily, with the Sentinels that you sent to the mountain we hold the advantage in numbers and trained warriors," Lali replied handing over one bundle to Ellana and Audul put the slightly larger package in Myna's waiting arms.

It was in that moment that Solas realized just what was being dropped off. They had brought children, more specifically, Ven's children. The child in Myna's arms wriggled a bit at the hood that had been covering her head fell away, revealing a main of bright red curls. She had her thumb in her mouth and she was looking around rather frantically. Solas briefly saw a pair of blue as her head swiveled from left to right.

There was a moment when her eyes landed on something in the distance and she pointed excitedly and wiggled out of her grandmother's arms and made a dash for the stairs to the Keep. It was then that he noticed that Ven and Dorian were descending the stairs, talking avidly to each other. It didn't seem like either of them noticed the visitors in the courtyard, nor the small child racing towards them.

A loud shout of _"Babae!"_ could heard and Ven's eyes widened in recognition when he realized who was approaching him. Solas watched as Ven bent down and waited for his daughter to run into his arms. The young elf was crying into her father's arms. Dorian looked extremely confused and uncomfortable shifting from foot to foot. Ven had to have told him about his offspring.

Solas saw the little girl rub her eyes and peer shyly at the Tevinter Altus. Dorian waved weakly with a shaky smile. The young elf scrambled up her father's shoulder, used her hair has a makeshift rope and began to wave enthusiastically at Dorian. Ven yelped halfway through her climb and put her on his shoulders. The child whispered something in Ven's ear that had the elf roaring with laughter, drawing the attention of the majority of the courtyard. Dorian just looked extremely concerned at the stares they were receiving from everyone.

Ellana pushed her way through the crowd, Lali and Audul behind her, as she made her way back into the main keep. The rest of the elves in the company went to put the harts away in the stable. Solas sighed, moving away from the wall. He'd need a new strategy for listening in on the next conversation that was no doubt about to happen in Ellana's quarters.

"You know, you are allowed to come and hear what Lali and Audul have to say," Myna said from behind him. Solas forced himself not to jump in surprise at Myna's sudden appearance.

"I felt that I wouldn't be welcome. It is a family gather of sorts, after all," Solas responded, trying to keep the conversation light and for the most part anonymous from onlookers.

Myna snorted. "Yes, well, you have more family invested in this than anyone else attending," she told him with a shrug as she hooked her arm through his and dragged him through the crowd of people surrounding the entrance to the Keep.

Solas saw Hawke and Anders chatting with Varric. The dwarf once again wiggled his eyebrows when he noticed that Solas was being dragged about by Myna, but this time Hawke joined in the fun. The woman had been beyond elated the past few weeks and nearly inseparable from Varric and her non-possessed lover. Fenris had been seen speaking the little group more than once, especially after the Bianca debacle last month. Varric found it hilarious that Solas was in a potential relationship with Ellana's mother. He had mentioned more than once that people had been betting on the wrong Lavellan to get together with Solas. Apparently, there had been a betting pool during on who Ellana would end up with, and Solas had been one of the contenders.

They were the last to make it to Ellana's chambers. Lali and Audul were lounging on the sofa, Fenris was against the hearth, holding the small, still covered bundle of Elven child in his arms. Ellana was pulling out reports from her desk. Ven was on the carpet with his daughter, who was dozing in his arms, and Dorian was confusedly sitting in next to him. When Solas raised an eyebrow questioningly at the Altus he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look so confused, Dorian. You've been sleeping with my brother for months. We figured that you should be introduced to two of the men that helped raise us," Ellana said, motioning towards the group of elves around him. Lali and Audul waved towards the Altus.

"If only you were an elf, it would be perfect," Lali grumbled playfully, wiggling his eyebrows rather suggestively between Ven and Dorian.

"I believe that is my cue to leave. Thank you for the offer of staying longer. I'll talk to you later," he told Ven, tapping his lover's nose before making is way out of the room.

Audul grumbled something unintelligible under his breath and shoved Lali off the sofa. For a moment he was mass of dark flailing limbs before crashing onto the ground. Lali growled, grabbed at Audul's clothing and dragged him onto the floor. The two began wrestling on the floor. Some thing would never change, no matter how much time passed.

"Now, is there a reason that humans are attacking the clans?" Ellana asked over the small commotion that the two Keepers were making. They both froze, the mood suddenly somber.

"The clans have been profiting from trading with local merchants, therefore the humans feel threatened. It's nothing different from before, _da'len_ ," Audul answered, his mouth a hard line. Solas had seen that look before. His general was holding something back.

"For some reason I don't think that you are being completely honest with Ellana, Audul," Solas commented and for the first time and both of his generals stood at shocked attention. Myna was shaking with suppressed laughter next to him. Had she not told them that he was here?

" _Fen'Harel,_ sir _!_ How long have you been standing there? _"_

"Long enough to hear you lying to his daughter to her face. Why aren't you telling her about the bandits' true origin?" Myna asked with her arms crossed motioning to Ellana before continuing, "She has a right to know that they were hired by the Red Templars."

Ellana sucked in a breath and ran a hand through her hair. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I could have sent Inquisition soldiers to help fend off the bandits. They wouldn't have been allowed on the Clan's land…" Ellana said pacing as she started formulating a plan to help her people.

"Ellana, we thought that we would be able to handle a few _shemlen_ on our own. We came here to ask for your silent support. We'd need elven members of your Inquisition, ones that would be willing to fight side by side with a Dalish Clan," Lali replied from underneath Audul, who still had him pinned to floor.

"The Clans were alright with you two getting up and leaving for weeks on end?" Ven questioned, standing up with his daughter fast asleep in his arms, her head lolling every so often.

"We have an Eluvian to take us back. It isn't like the return trip will take all that long. We've all been communicating battle strategy through dreams with our Firsts and warriors when we can," Audul replied as he straightened himself and pulled Lali off the ground with a practiced ease before turning back to Ven. "But, honestly, Ven'rius, why choose a magister?"

Ven rubbed the back of his head with his unoccupied arm. "What can I say? It seems that my sister and I have exotic taste in men. They need to be born and raised in Tevinter."

Fenris growled and his marks lit up for a moment before dimming as the little bundle his arms squirmed and whimpered. Solas had almost forgotten about the second child. The one that Myna had failed to mention.

Ellana gave a fond sigh before making her way over the child and taking it from Fenris arms. "Oh, don't worry about the bright lights. They aren't going to hurt you," she cooed as the little hood the child had been wearing fell off to reveal a head of blonde hair. The child was scowling something fierce with one familiar green eye open, while the other was being rubbed with an irritable little fist. That particular shade of green Solas had only seen in the eyes of the sourly marked warrior standing next to Ellana.

Solas swallowed, a bitter pit in the formed in the center of his stomach. He had almost cost a child to be partially orphaned. "This is your child?" He asked Ellana, hoping for some kind of denial. He had nearly gotten her killed. She was a mother. She had to have only recently given birth when she had been sent to the Conclave. How had she never mentioned her own child?

Ellana nodded, "Cecili is almost a year and half old. I was back in fighting shape when the Conclave was called, and as the best hunter in the clan, I needed to go to observe what foolish nonsense the _shemlen_ were getting up to," she answered, as she moved her daughter's fist away from her eyes and bounced the little girl up and down in a calming manner.

"You left your child to monitor humans? Surely there was another clan member…" Solas began, but Ellana gave him a rather dry glare.

"My mission was supposed to only a last two weeks, but someone gave their foci to a darkspawn magister and plans changed. Either way, the world is now a safer place for Cecili to grow up in."

Audul cleared his throat, "Yes let's discus how your foci ended up in the hands of a magister, _Solas."_

"I have a feeling that you already know how my foci was given to Corypheus. There is no need for me to tell you something you already know."

Lali snarled and stalked up to Solas, magic sparking on his fingertips "And here I was hoping that it was a lie. Do you realize that what you attempted to do would have destroyed the world, again? You could have killed your daughter? Why didn't you attempt to contact us in our dreams? You have agents all over Thedas right now. One of them more than likely saw us. Didi you just choose not to find us? Did you not want to hear our disappointment in you for erecting the veil?"

Solas knew he was going to have to answer a question like this eventually. He hadn't looked for any of his generals. He had assumed they had died and left it at that. But, there might have been some truth in Lali's words. He hadn't searched for any of them, he hadn't wanted to see the disappointment in any of their eyes at his failure. He had never expected to find them again or to find a family. "I had hoped to restore the People to their former glory, but I see that there were quite a few faults in my plan. There were many things that I didn't account for."

Ellana snorted and put her daughter back in Fenris' arms. "You could say that. Are you still planning on using your foci?"

Solas felt Myna's hand on his shoulder. "Yes, _Solas,_ are you going to attempt to use your foci again?"

All eyes were on him, waiting for his reply and no doubt sensing for honesty. Lali, Audul and Myna would easily be able to tell if he was lying. They had all spent centuries training together. He had once been the strongest of the four of them, but his power was still replenishing. Then there was Ven, a very powerful mage in his own right. Honestly, Solas wasn't sure if he would be able to defeat Ven. Solas had yet to see his son at his full power.

Yet, in this moment, if he wanted to, he knew he could escape. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve, but he wouldn't need them here. It was time for the lone wolf to join his pack. If he wanted to rebuild the People he was going to need to help those already living. Focusing on the dead wasn't going to solve anything and bringing back the Elven Pantheon would only make things worse. He had a family here, one that would help him navigate this new world.

"I will only use the foci to remove the mark from Ellana's hand and that is it."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before he was engulfed in his generals' arms. All three of them were hugging him, he could see Ellana and Ven through their arms, each smiling. He saw Ellana sliding a pair of dagger back up her sleeve. They had been preparing for the worst.

A small cry and a call for " _mamae!"_ broke them all out of their revere. It seemed that life was going to change for the Inquisition. With Leliana taking the position of Divine there was going to be a need for a new spymaster and Myna was ready to step into that role, whether the Inquisition was ready for it was another matter entirely.

It was time for an Elven revolution and Thedas wasn't going to know what happened until it was far too late.

 **I hope you have all enjoyed this story. You guys got the happy ending. I was actually planning on kill Solas at the very end, but I changed my mind, thinking that it might be cruel to do that.**

 **Thank you all so much for the support!**

 **~Animerocker**


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